Physical Growth and Nutritional Status Assessment of School Going Children Residing in Western and Eastern Uttar Pradesh, India

Uttar Pradesh is the largest state of India in population and fourth largest state in terms of area. On the basis of its large size, diverse geography, climate and topography, the state has been divided into 4 regions, namely Western, Central, Eastern and Bundelkhand. Present study was conducted with an objective to assess physical growth and nutritional status of school going children age 6-14 years, residing in western and eastern Uttar Pradesh (UP), India. Survey was conducted at Bulandshahr district in western region and Chandauli district in eastern UP. The multistage stratified random sampling was used for identification of schools. Data was collected from 38 schools (Western Uttar Pradesh 20 schools and Eastern Uttar Pradesh 18 schools). Selected children in Western Uttar Pradesh (WUP) were 413 (Male 186 and Female 227) and in Eastern Uttar Pradesh (EUP) total children were 340 (Male 167 and Female 173). The clinical signs and symptoms examination was carried out for prevalence of macro and micro nutrients deficiencies. Anthropometric measurements i.e. body weight, height and mid upper arm circumference were measured. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated as weight/ height2 to assess chronic energy deficiency. Physical growth of children was assessed by height for age (stunting) and BMI for age (under and over weight) by using z score suggested by WHO. Physical growth of the children was compared with WHO growth standards. Present study revealed that the overall mean height of children from both the regions were lower than the WHO standards however, height and weight measurements exhibit uniform increase with age in both the sexes. Prevalence of sever stunting was higher among boys and girls of WUP in comparison with EUP. The clinical signs and symptoms of protein deficiency were noticed tripe among girls than boys in both WUP and EUP. This indicates that overall girls were not receiving adequate protein in the diet. However symptoms of vitamin A and B complex deficiency were higher in boys of both the regions.