scholarly journals Use of modified composite index of anthropometric failure and MUAC-for-age to assess prevalence of malnutrition among school-age children and adolescents involved in the school feeding program in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

BMC Nutrition ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zelalem Destaw ◽  
Eshetu Wencheko ◽  
Samuel Zemenfeskidus ◽  
Yohannes Challa ◽  
Melkamu Tiruneh ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Malnutrition hampers educational performance of schoolchildren coming from low-income families. School feeding program was, thus, launched in public primary schools in Addis Ababa very recently. It is, thus, important to measure the initial nutritional status of participating students to see the effect of the program on their nutritional wellbeing. Methods The first-round survey was made at the initiation of the program. A multi-stage stratified sampling from 50 schools located in the ten sub cities of Addis Ababa yielded 4500 children and adolescents of ages five to 19 years. Data was collected on age, height, weight and MUAC of the schoolchildren. Nutritional status was evaluated using conventional anthropometric indicators, modified Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (mCIAF), and MUAC-for-age. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was used to examine classification of malnourishment by MUAC-for-age versus BMI-for-age and mCIAF versus MUAC-for-age. Multilevel mixed effects model was applied to investigate variations in the prevalence of malnutrition across sub cities. Findings The area under the ROC curves (AUC) for MUAC-for-age against BMI-for-age z-scores was 0.68 and that of mCIAF against MUAC-for-age was 0.70, respectively, indicating an overall better classification of malnourishment. Mixed effects model showed significant variations in nutritional status of schoolchildren across sub cities. Conventional measures showed that prevalence of stunting, thinness, or underweight among the sample children and adolescents was 23.4, 18.4, and 16.5%, respectively. Assessment by mCIAF, instead, showed a higher prevalence of overall malnutrition (43.4%). MUAC-for-age indicated an acute malnutrition measurement of 33.4%. Significant differences (p < 0.0001) in nutritional status were seen between boys and girls, and among age groups as measured by mCIAF. Interpretation Conventional measures of nutritional status undermined level of malnutrition. Instead, mCIAF and MUAC-for-age gave higher estimates of the magnitude of the existing prevalence of malnutrition among the school children and adolescents.

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-163
Author(s):  
O.A. Adebisi ◽  
L.O. Adebisi ◽  
A. Jonathan ◽  
O.O. Ajani ◽  
U. G Asogwa

The “National Home Growing School Feeding Program” by Nigeria government was designed to overcome malnutrition disorders through regular  school-feeding to improve the nutrition status and the education abilities of school children. Hence, this study focused on assessing the effect of ‘national home growing school feeding program’ on the nutritional status of children of rural households in Osun State, Nigeria. Primary data was  used for the study. Two stage random sampling was used for the study, the first stage which was the random selection of four (4) rural communities from each of the three (3) Agro-ecological zones present in the state and the second stage was the random sampling of 10 households from each of the selected communities, comprising of households whose children are beneficiaries and not beneficiaries of the program. A total of 120 households were used for the study. A structured questionnaire was used for the purpose of extracting needed information from the respondents. The data collected was analyzed using Descriptive Statistics, Anthropometry, Logistics Regression Model and Chi-square Analysis. Result of analysis revealed that nutritional status of children in the study area is significantly influenced by child’s sex, child’s age, mother’s education, national home  growing school feeding program, access to clean water, access to sanitation facilities and household income. The effect of national home growing school feeding program on the nutritional status of the children was statistically significant (chi-square=37.263, p < 0.000) which means the program has positive effect on the nutritional status of children in the study area. The study therefore recommended that government should ensure the  sustenance of National Home Growing School Feeding Program especially in the rural areas of the country. Education of the rural women folks should be taken importantly by governments and NGOs as they are the one directly taking care of children wellbeing. Government, NGOs and  Community groups should Journal of the Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Imo State University Owerri also provide the basic  amenities like portable water supply and sanitation facilities in the rural areas so as to curb the incidence of diseases and malnutrition. Keywords: National Home Grown School Feeding Program, Nutritional Status, Health, Malnutrition


Scientifica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Solomon Muluken Ayehu ◽  
Addisu Tadesse Sahile

Background. Quality of education plays a crucial role in the social, economic, and political development of a nation. Primary school is a vital stage in developing the personality and consciousness of school children. Objective. The study assessed the Body Mass Index and factors associated with School Absenteeism at selected primary schools in Addis Ababa, 2018. Methods. A comparative cross-sectional study was undertaken on 324 (162 each group) from selected primary schools of Addis Ababa from May 02 to July 30, 2018. All participants and their families provided written informed consent and assent. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select participants, where the list of students was once identified from the selected schools. An independent t-test was undertaken at p value <0.05 as the statistically significant level. And, binary logistics regression was used for the identification of factors statistically associated with school absenteeism, with its respective 95% confidence interval (CI) and p value of <0.05 significant level. Findings. There was a statistically significant difference between feeding and nonfeeding participants on average weight, school absenteeism, and BMI for age, at p < 0.05 . Participants who enrolled in the school feeding program had a higher average weight than nonfeeding participants ( p < 0.05 ). Participants from the feeding group had lower average school absenteeism than their counter participants ( p < 0.05 ). The average BMI for age was significantly higher among feeding participants than nonfeeding participants ( p < 0.05 ). The odds of having school absenteeism were 1.796 times higher among feeding participants than among nonfeeding participants (AOR: 1.796; 95CI:1.061–3.042, p < 0.05 ). The odds of sustaining absenteeism from the school were 2.257 times higher among feeding participants than among nonfeeding participants (AOR: 2.257; 95%CI: 1.291–3.948; p < 0.05 ). Conclusion. A higher number of school absenteeism, average weight, and BMI for age were observed in participants enrolled in the school feeding program than those who did not get enrolled in the feeding program. Large-scale studies were recommended to testify the impacts of school feeding on absenteeism.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeshalem Mulugeta Demilew ◽  
Azezu Asres Nigussie

Abstract Background: Though undernutrition affects academic performance significant numbers of Ethiopian school children have undernutrition. To avert nutritional problems the government in collaboration with the world food program has implemented a school feeding program. However, data on the nutritional status of primary school students were scarce in the country. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the nutritional status of primary school students enrolled in schools with school feeding programs and in schools without school feeding programs and to identify associated factors in Meket Woreda.Methods: A school-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,091 students, from April 1-27/2015. The study participants were selected using a multi-stage stratified sampling method. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data entry and analysis were done using SPSS version 20 software. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were done. Anthropometric data were analyzed using Anthro-plus software.Results: The prevalence of thinness was 37.5% among students in non school feeding program schools compared with 27.8 % among students in School feeding program schools. Though it wasn’t significant after adjusting for the potential confounders, the prevalence of stunting among students who took meals at school was higher (58.5%) compared with students who did not consume meals at school (48.3%). Students who did not take meal at school [AOR=2.6, 95% CI: (1.8, 3.8)], having uneducated mother [AOR=5.3, 95% CI: (2.2, 12.6)], being a male [AOR=1.9, 95% CI: (1.4, 2.5)], and taking meal once daily [AOR=2.7, 95% CI: (1.6, 3.9)] were positively associated with thinness. Conclusion: The prevalence of thinness was higher among students in schools did not implement school feeding programs compared to their counterparts. Thus, school meal program should be scaling up into schools in food insecure areas.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeshalem Mulugeta Demilew ◽  
Azezu Asres Nigussie

Abstract Background Under-nutrition significantly affects the academic performance of students. Despite its remarkable effect, the prevalence of malnutrition was very high in Ethiopia. To reduce malnutrition and its serious consequence Ethiopian government in collaboration with the world food program implemented school feeding program in food insecure areas. However, its effect on the nutritional status of students was not assessed, yet. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the nutritional status of primary school students enrolled in schools with school feeding program and primary school students enrolled in schools without in Meket Woreda. Methods A school-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 1091 students, from April 1-27/2015. The study participants were selected using multi-stage stratified sampling method. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data entry and analysis were done by SPSS version 20 software. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were done. Anthropometric data were calculated using Anthro-plus software. Results the prevalence of stunting was higher among students who took meal at school than students who did not consume meal at school (58.5% Vs 48.3%) whereas the prevalence of thinness was higher among students who did not take meal at school compared with students who took meal at school (37.5% Vs27.8%). Factors associated with stunting were having uneducated mother [AOR=2.1, 95% CI: (1.4, 3.3)], drinking river water [AOR=1.5, 95% CI: (1.1, 2.1)], being a male [AOR=1.6, 95% CI: (1.3, 2.1)] and taking meal once daily [AOR=2.6, 95% CI: (1.2, 5.9)]. Whereas, students who did not take meal at school [AOR=2.6, 95% CI: (1.8, 3.8)], having uneducated mother [AOR=5.3, 95% CI: (2.2, 12.6)], being a male [AOR=1.9, 95% CI: (1.4, 2.5)], and taking meal once daily [AOR=2.7, 95% CI: (1.6, 3.9)] were positively associated with thinness. Conclusion School meal program is important to prevent thinness. Thus, school meal program should be implemented in schools have no the program. Education should be given to improve the source of drinking water, frequency and diversity of food at home by giving emphasis to uneducated and housewife mothers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suman Chakrabarti ◽  
Samuel P. Scott ◽  
Harold Alderman ◽  
Purnima Menon ◽  
Daniel O. Gilligan

AbstractIndia has the world’s highest number of undernourished children and the largest school feeding program, the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) scheme. As school feeding programs target children outside the highest-return “first 1000-days” window, they have not been included in the global agenda to address stunting. School meals benefit education and nutrition in participants, but no studies have examined whether benefits carry over to their children. Using nationally representative data on mothers and their children spanning 1993 to 2016, we assess whether MDM supports intergenerational improvements in child linear growth. Here we report that height-for-age z-score (HAZ) among children born to mothers with full MDM exposure was greater (+0.40 SD) than that in children born to non-exposed mothers. Associations were stronger in low socioeconomic strata and likely work through women’s education, fertility, and health service utilization. MDM was associated with 13–32% of the HAZ improvement in India from 2006 to 2016.


2018 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naruna Pereira Rocha ◽  
Mariana De Santis Filgueiras ◽  
Fernanda Martins de Albuquerque ◽  
Luana Cupertino Milagres ◽  
Ana Paula Pereira Castro ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the implementation of the Brazilian National School Feeding Program as a food and nutritional security policy in public schools. METHODS: This a cross-sectional study, with a quantitative and qualitative approach, carried out with 268 schoolchildren aged eight to nine years from the public school system of Viçosa, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in 2015. Interviews were carried out using semi-structured questionnaires with the children, parents, cooks, nutritionists, trainer of the Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company, and president of the School Feeding Council. In order to analyze the implementation of the National School Feeding Program in Viçosa, we evaluated the direct weighing of the food served in the schools using mechanical balances with a capacity of up to 10 kg and the perception of the social players involved in the implementation of the National School Feeding Program. The children were questioned about the acceptance of and adherence to the food offered, in addition to the habit of bringing food from home. Parents reported knowledge about the School Feeding Program and Council. The qualitative analysis consisted of content analysis and quantitative analysis using the chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, and Mann-Whitney test. We adopted the statistical significance of 5% for quantitative analysis. RESULTS: Children reported low adherence to the school feeding program and most of them used to bring food from home. Irregularities were identified in the implementation of the National School Feeding Program, such as: inadequate number of nutritionists, suspension of Council meetings, inadequate infrastructure in the areas of preparation and distribution of meals, lack of training of cooks, lack of nutritional adequacy of the food offered, and lack of actions on food and nutritional education. The Program complied with the recommendations for purchasing food from family farms. CONCLUSIONS: The National School Feeding Program presented many irregularities in Viçosa. It is important to monitor the problems identified for better reformulation and planning of the Program, in order to guarantee the food and nutritional security of the children served.


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