Naveedur Rehman Durrani, Zaheer Ahmad, Abbas K A.
Nutritional and health status of school age children in Islamabad Capital Territory.
Pak Paed J Jan ;31(4):190-4.

Objective: To assess the nutritional status, and identify common health problems of school age children in Islamabad capital territory. Methods: A descriptive study was done at Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad from April 2004 to June 2004.Three hundred and ninety nine children between ages 3 -14 years, from various non-formal schools in Islamabad capital territory were examined for height, weight, hearing, vision and apparent physical abnormalities. Out of these 399 children, 361 were included in the study as the birth records of thirty-eight children were not available. Height for age and weight for height z scores were calculated to assess nutritional status and to define stunting and wasting as recommended by WHO. Quantitative data obtained was analyzed using SPSS version 10. Results: Majority of children assessed for malnutrition fell in the category of mild to moderate wasting (39.72% and 31.1%) and stunting (36.1 and 28.0%). Other physical problems were anemia (30.4%), Hearing difficulty (27.1%), visual problems (14.4%) and goiter (1.6%). Conclusion: Screening for common health problems and assessment of nutritional status should be an essential part of school health services. Early detection and appropriate treatment of malnourished children must be done prior to school entry to avoid complications like stunting and wasting. Children found to have a health problem, should be appropriately dealt or referred. School nutrition programmes should also be included to improve the health and nutritional status of school children.

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