A Cross-Sectional Study to Assess the Determinants of Protein Energy Malnutrition Among Tribal Pre- School Children: a Case Study of Barjora & Chatna Block, Bankura District In West Bengal, India |

ABSTRACT:

In new millennium India faces burden of diseases, like Protein EnergyMalnutrition (PEM). UNICEF (2008) estimated that 146 million children wereunderweight in the developing world. India accounts for 57 million of them. Theobjectives were to assess the prevalence of PEM among preschool children and toassociate the selected socio demographic variables with prevalence of PEM.Cross sectional descriptive design with simple random sampling was used toselect two blocks from Bankura district in West Bengal. Totally 1501 childrenaged between 3-5 years were assessed. The prevalence of underweight wassignificantly higher in children at 3 years than 4 & 5 years of age.Totally 50% of them were underweight, 32% stunted, 37% wasted and 23% withimpaired mid arm circumference. There was significant association between ageand sex of the children with PEM at the level of P<0.001. Hence specialattention is needed towards nutritional need of children. A cross-sectional study was done to study the prevalence of ProteinEnergy Malnutrition (PEM) and interrelationship between Sociodemographicfactors and nutritional status of pre-school rural anganwadi children. Clustersampling technique was used and 245 children aged between 2-6 years wereselected. The information was collected using preformed proforma andanthropometry was done to assess the nutritional status of tribal children. Itwas found that 116(47.3%) of the children are underweight out of them 87(35.5%)and 29(11.8%) of children are in grade I and grade II PEM respectively. 66(27%)children had stunting (low height for age) out of them 54(22%) of children hadmild stunting and 12( 4.9%) of children had severe stunting. The study showed asignificant association between children’s nutritional status and each of theexplanatory Sociodemographic variables under study. Nutrition in children is considered as one of the foundation not onlyfor good health and freedom from disease, but also for normal growth anddevelopment. Nutrition has a profound and largely incalculable impact on humanhealth. Preschool children are most vulnerable to the effect of undernutritionbecause of rapid growth and thus their nutritional status is considered to besensitive indicator of community health. The objective of the study was tostudy prevalence of protein energy malnutrition in children between one to fiveyears of age; socioeconomic, demographic, ecological and other health problemsassociated with  protein energy  malnutrition;    immunization   status;  to suggest appropriate recommendations basedon observation.