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A Comparative Assessment of the Epidemiology of Malnutrition among Pupils in Public and Private Primary School in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State


HA Agbo
EA Envuladu
AI Zoakah

Abstract

Background: Majority of school children lack adequate amount of food, thereby inducing malnutrition, which now poses a serious threat to education, particularly in developing countries, including Nigeria. The importance of good nutrition in the proper and optimal development in childhood is indispensible because children are at a stage in life when all the tissues and cells are rapidly growing and organs are developed for specific functions in the child's life.
Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among pupils of selected Public and Private schools in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau state, Nigeria. A multistage sampling method was used to recruit the calculated sample size of 500 pupils; an interviewer administered questionnaires, weighing scale, measuring tape meter were the instrument used for data collection.
Results: The socio demographic data of 290 and 210 pupils of the public and private schools respectively were compared. The pupils' ranged between 5-17years with majority between 6-10 years in all the schools. Pupils in the private school were more nourished and had an appropriate weight-for-age more than 90% of the normal range with an ideal height-for-age of 48.0% more than those in the public school.
Conclusion: Nutritional imbalance can affect the educational outcome of the children amongst many other things. Measures such as school feeding should be introduced on a national scale in order to alleviate any deficiency state of the pupils.

Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 2006-0734
print ISSN: 2006-0734