DIETARY HABITS AND NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN URBAN SLUM COMMUNITIES IN IBADAN NORTH WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

Abstract

The growing trend in the prevalence of malnutrition among school children has been associated with inadequate and improper dietary habit(s). Increasing evidence suggests that lifestyle and dietary habits have a lifelong correlation with the high propensity for contraction of chronic diseases such as obesity, coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, certain types of cancer and death. There are few data available on the dietary habits and nutritional status of upper primary school children in public schools in urban slum communities in Ibadan. This study was undertaken to assess the dietary habits of Upper primary school children in Public schools in urban slum communities in Ibadan North West Local Government Area. This study was a descriptive cross sectional study. A total of 422 primary school children in upper classes were recruited from fourteen schools in the four wards of the urban slums communities of IBNWLG using multi-stage sampling technique. A validated semistructured interviewer’s questionnaire with an in-built dietary diversity which was scored as low (1-3), medium (4-5) and high (≥6), food frequency questionnaire, anthropometric measurements were used to collect socio-economic data, eating habits, factors influencing eating habits, food frequency intake and physical observation, respectively. The WHO’s Anthro-plus (2005) was used to determine the nutritional status of the school children. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in data analysis. Level of significance was placed at p<0.05. The respondents’ mean age was 11.47 ±1.25 years; 33.7% of the respondents were in primary six, 33.5% in primary five and 32.8% were in primary four. A total of 73.6% of the respondents had breakfast on the day of interview. 26.1% of those who have not had breakfast attributed it to having no money to eat. Hundred percent and (81.3%) of the respondents occasionally consumed snacks and soft drinks respectively The dietary diversity score in the group of the respondents were 40.1%, 53.8% and 5.2% as low, medium and good dietary diversity score respectively. There was a significant relationship between the respondents’ socio-economic status and their dietary diversity. The Height-for-Age of the respondents revealed that a greater proportion (56.4%) of the respondents were stunted while (84.4%) of the respondents had normal nutritional status (BMI for age) and a few were undernourished (severely thin (3.1%), and thin (3.3%)

respectively). However, only a few were overweight (9.0%), and obese (0.2%) respectively. There was a significant relationship between the socio-demographic status age of the respondents and their nutritional status. Poor dietary habit involved skipping of breakfast, high consumption of starchy staples and soft drinks and low consumption of fruits is common among the study respondents. Comprehensive nutritional interventions for students and their parents should be implemented in the primary schools in the study area.