Nutritional status of children in rural India: a case study from Tamil Nadu, first in the world to initiate the Mid-Day Meal scheme

Abstract

In India, during the mid-nineties the Union Government had initiated the Mid-Day Meal schemes in schools to promote primary education on one hand, and to reduce malnutrition on the other. However, Tamil Nadu had launched this program several decades before; during the regime of Mr. Kumarasami Kamraj (1954-1963). An empirical study was undertaken in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu, in the south of India, to understand the nutritional status of the children between 11 and 18 years old. This group is vulnerable, as during this age, individuals undergo physical and mental changes. We calculated the Body Mass Index (<b>BMI</b>) of school children to assess their nutritional status. A total of 806 school children took part in this study and the majority of them were found to be underweight in the study region. Irrespective of their age group and sex, as per the <b>WHO</b>’s international standards, 83% of the students were underweight (<b>BMI</b>< 18.5). Only 16% of the students were in the normal range (<b>BMI</b> 18.5 - 24.9), and of the rest, 0.39% and 0.06% were in the <b>BMI</b> range of 25 - 29.9 (overweight) and 30 - 35.9 (obese), respectively. Based on available data, a regression analysis was carried out. This regression model showed that students’ age, sex and father’s occupation significantly affects their <b>BMI</b>. Further analysis showed that <b>BMI</b> was independent of the students’ blood group. It was concluded that malnutrition among school children can be eliminated by providing additional healthy foods and by improving the Socio Economic Background (<b>SEB</b>) of the region

Health and nutritional status of children enrolled with a charitable trust school in rural service area of a medical college in coastal Karnataka

“…This was in total contrast to the study by Navaneethan et al in Tamil Nadu which had reported 83% as underweight and 16% as normal. 18 A comparatively lower prevalence of under nutrition (13.3%) was found in our study than that reported by Kulkarni et al (43.32%) from a study conducted in government schools in rural coastal areas of Karnataka. 19 However, the study had reported similar number of overweight children (3.65%) as in our study (2%).…”

A descriptive cross-sectional study to assess prevalence of malnutrition in school children 6-14 years of age in rural and urban area of Bikaner, Rajasthan, India

“…19 Significantly higher prevalence of thinness as compared to present study was reported by Navaneethan P et al (Thinness -83%, overweight 0.39% and obese 0.06%). 20 The comparatively low prevalence of malnutrition in this present study may be due to difference in sociodemographic profile of the study population, ethnic variation, socio-economic status, geo-climatic condition, food habits of the children etc.…”

A community based study to assess the prevalence and sociodemographic factors influencing undernutrition among children aged 6 to 14 years in a rural area of Coimbatore

“…Recent reports showed that Tamil Nadu has shown gains in terms of reduction of the problem of malnutrition, but it still has a high percentage of malnourished children. 11 However, there are only a few studies regarding under nutrition among children aged 6 to 14 years reported from Coimbatore. Hence this study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence of undernutrition in the rural field practice area of the Department of Community Medicine of PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, which will help in devising suitable strategies to reduce this problem in this area.…”