Abstract:Objectives: a) To find out the nutritional status of children aged 3-6 years in a village of Nadia district of west Bengal. b) To identify the impact of mother’s occupation and duration of exclusive breast feeding on nutritional status of the children.
Subjects: 100 (one hundred) children of Kadampur village in Nadia.
Materials and Method: Mothers of the children were interviewed using an interview schedule to collect information regarding the socio demographic profile, feeding practices etc. Weight of the children was measured by a portable weighing machine, nutritional status among 3-6 years children was assessed by computing weight for age using Indian Academy of pediatrics (IAP) classification. Grading I to IV nutritional grade was taken as undernourished.
Statistical Analytical: Prevalence was expressed in percentage and chi-square test was used to find association with factors.
Results: The prevalence of under-nutrition (<80% of standard weight for age) was 66% and grade I malnourishment was 42%. Nutritional status of children of mothers who were unemployed was better than those whose mothers were working and the different was found to be statistically significant (p>0.05). Duration of exclusive breast feeding had influence on the nutritional status. Prevalence of undernourishment is the lowest in the children who were in exclusive breast feeding for 4-6 months of age.
Conclusion: The findings of the present study revealed widespread prevalence of under nutrition among 3-6 years aged children of kadampur village, Nadia District, West Bengal.
