Zia Ud Din, Parvez I Paracha.
Assessment of nutritional status of adolescent boys from public and private schools of Peshawar.
Pak J Med Res Jan ;42(3):129-33.

Two public and two private high schools representing boys from lower to middle-higher income families were selected for the assessment of their nutritional status. Two hundreds boys aged between 11-15 years from each school were enrolled for the study. Weight, height, triceps skinfold and mid arm circumference measurements of the boys were taken and semi-quantitative food frequency and socioeconomic questionnaires were filled by interviewing the boys. The results showed that the mean weight-for-age, height-for-age, triceps skin fold and mid arm circumference Z-scores of the boys from Beaconhouse and Peshawar Model schools (private schools) were significantly higher than those of the Wazirbagh and Lakari Kaniza schools (public schools) but there were no significant differences in the mean Z-scores of the boys between the two private high schools. Among the four schools, the prevalence of underweight and stunting was lowest being 4% and 4.5%, respectively, in Beaconhouse School while it was highest being 19% and 21%, respectively, amongst the boys of Lakarai Kaniza high school. Food frequency results revealed that boys from the two public schools were receiving significantly lower intake of energy, protein, calcium and vitamin-minerals as compared to those studying in the private schools. Socio-economic results showed that families of boys studying in the private schools had a lower mean family size and a higher mean family income than the families of those studying in public schools. A significant correlation was found between the anthropometric, dietary and socioeconomic characteristics of the families. The study concludes that the nutritional status of the boys studying in the private schools was better than those studying in the public schools and that family size and income were partly responsible for their better nutritional status.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com