scholarly journals The Micronutrient Consumption in Indian Elementary School Children across Socioeconomic Strata

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-33
Author(s):  
Kshitija Patki ◽  
◽  
Divya Sanghi ◽  
Raju K. Parasher ◽  
Barkha Bhatnagar

Background: The adequate intake of micronutrients in school children has a significant long term beneficial effect on a child’s overall development and performance. Thus, identifying sub-clinical deficiencies, monitoring micronutrient intake in a child’s diet, and subsequently treating each is of paramount importance. The present study aimed to determine the daily micronutrient consumption in elementary school children across socioeconomic strata (SCE) compared to age-specific, recommended daily allowance (RDA). Subjects/Methods: Three hundred and sixty-six (366) healthy, school-going girls and boys between the ages of 6 -14 years volunteered for the study. Socioeconomic status was assessed using the urban socioeconomic status grid questionnaire, and micronutrient consumption was determined by the 24-hour recall questionnaire and the Dietcal software. Results: Seventy per cent of the children tested had a BMI in the normal range, and approximately 15.84% of the children were underweight, of which 82% were in the Mid-low SCE strata. Paradoxically, an equal number of children (15%) were overweight, of which 89% belonged to the high SCE strata. Overall, a large number (70-90%) of children were found deficient (compared to RDA) in the intake of micronutrients, and there were significant differences between children belonging to the high and mid-low SCE strata in the intake of Calcium (10 -14 year), Iron (6 - 12 year) and Vitamin B6 (for 10 -14 year). Additionally, the deficiency in the consumption of Calcium, Iron, Vitamin B6, Vitamin 12, and Vitamin A was the most in the older children, while the consumption of Magnesium and Vitamin C across all age groups was within the recommended daily allowance (RDA). Conclusions: Elementary schools across socioeconomic status and age groups reported severe deficiencies in the consumption of micronutrients. Interestingly, in-spite of the accessibility to nutritious food, children belonging to the high SCE strata were also deficient in micronutrient intake. Hence, it is important to re-focus our attention from gross caloric intake to the consumption of micronutrient-rich foods.

Author(s):  
Dasril Oktariyani ◽  
Yuni Resi Fitri ◽  
Rahmatiqa Chamy

Background: The incidence of stunting in the Lapai Public Health Center has increased. The incidence of stunting in primary school-age children 6-12 years is a manifestation of stunting in infants, with 84 cases. Socio-Economic Level and Dietary Patterns are one of the factors that influence stunting. The aim of the study was to determine the socioeconomic and dietary patterns with the incidence of stunting in elementary school children in Lapai Public Health Center, Padang.Methods: This type of research is observational analytic with case-control study program. The study period was June 2019 with a sample of 19 cases and 19 controls. Data collection using questionnaires and univariate analysis using descriptive statistics in the form of frequency and percentage distributions while bivariate with chi-square test α 0.05.Results: From the results of the case group more than half (63.2%) of respondents have high socioeconomic status, more than half (63.2%) of respondents have good dietary patterns, there is no relationship between socioeconomic status with the stunting incidents and there is a meaningful relationship between dietary patterns and stunting incidents. From analysis, the OR value was 14 times the risk of stunting in elementary school children in Lapai Public Health Center.Conclusions: Dietary patterns in school-age children have an important role in improving nutritional status. It is recommended for families to pay attention to children's dietary patterns, adjust their diet according to schedule and accompany children when eating and to the health center to provide counselling to families to play a role in providing care for the child's eating.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukiko Asaka ◽  
Michikazu Sekine ◽  
Masaaki Yamada ◽  
Takashi Tatsuse

Abstract Background Despite the fact that there are parents who do not take children with untreated dental caries to a dental clinic, few studies have been conducted to identify the responsible underlying social and family factors. The aim of this study was to investigate whether socioeconomic status and lifestyle factors are associated with dental neglect in elementary school children. Methods This study was conducted in 2016 with 1655 children from the Super Shokuiku School Project in Toyama. Using Breslow’s seven health behaviors, the survey assessed: the grade, sex, and lifestyle of the children; parental internet and game use and lifestyle; socioeconomic status. The odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for having untreated dental caries were calculated using logistic regression analysis. Results Among the children participating, 152 (3.2%) had untreated dental caries. Among them, 53 (34.9%) had not been taken to a dental clinic despite the school dentist’s advice. Dental neglect was significantly associated with children in higher grades (OR, 2.08; 95% CI, 1.14–3.78), father’s Internet and game use ≥ 2 h/day (OR, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.02–3.88), not being affluent (OR, 2.78; 95% CI, 1.14–6.81), and non-engagement in afterschool activities (OR, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.10–3.62). Conclusions Socioeconomic status was the strongest factor associated with dental neglect despite the fact that the children’s medical expenses are paid in full by the National Health Insurance in Toyama, Japan. Future studies should investigate what factors prevent parents of non-affluent families from taking their children to dental clinics and how they can be socially supported to access adequate medical care.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 422-433
Author(s):  
So Ra Kang ◽  
Shin-Jeong Kim ◽  
Jungmin Lee

Purpose: This study describes the development of a violence prevention educational program for elementary school children using empathy (VPEP-E) that teachers can use during class.Methods: Hoffman's theory of empathy and Seels and Richey's (1994) ADDIE model were applied to develop this program.Results: The developed program consisted of eight sessions: "Orientation/definition of violence and empathy", "Types and boundaries of violence", "Look into my feelings", "Say it with a facial expression", "Preventing non-empathic violence due to social prejudice", "Preventing physical violence", "Verbal and online violence prevention: empathic conversation", and "I can do well: review of the whole curriculum". The program was evaluated by 15 elementary school teachers, who considered it to be easily accessible to elementary school students. The final VPEP-E, which will be provided in eight times for 40 minutes each for fifth-grade students, will provide a basis for preventing violence by fostering empathy.Conclusion: We expect the developed educational program to be effective in preventing violence among elementary school students. However, further research involving children from various age groups is needed.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-549
Author(s):  
David E. Sandberg ◽  
Heino F.L. Meyer-Bahlburg ◽  
Rer. Nat. ◽  
Anke A. Ehrhardt ◽  
Thomas J. Yager

Objective: To supplement the few small-scale studies on convenience samples of boys with an epidemiological study on the prevalence of gender-atypical behaviors (GABs) in boys and girls and to assess the influence of variation of age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Method: The present study, a postal questionnaire survey, used an existing pool of GAB items for boys, developed comparable GAB items for girls, and analyzed parent-reported frequencies of GABs in a demographically heterogeneous community sample of 687 boys and girls age 6 to 10 years. Results: The majority of GABs were quite rare, but there was considerable variability in their prevalence. Nevertheless, many children show multiple GABs although each individual GAB at low frequency; for instance, 10 or more different GABs were exhibited by 22.8% of boys and 38.6% of girls. Only a few GABs varied significantly with age, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. Conclusions: These data are of relevance to clinicians counseling parents who are worried about the occurrence of GABs in their children.


1977 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Dunham

The effect of age, sex, speed, and practice on coincidence-anticipation (C/A) performance of elementary school children was investigated. 84 elementary school children, 7 boys and 7 girls at Ages 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 yr., served as subjects for the study. Subjects were given 24 C/A trials, 6 each at 4 speeds, randomly presented. Subjects were required to lift the foot off a spring switch in coincidence with the arrival of a ball at a target flag. A score was determined as the difference between actual time and the estimate as recorded on separate .01-sec. Lafayette timers. The data were analyzed employing a 6 by 2 by 4 by 3 factorial design. Results indicated that 7-yr.-olds performance was inferior to those of all other age groups, boys were more accurate than girls, and all groups exhibited improvement over practice.


2021 ◽  
Vol In Press (In Press) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raheleh Rafaiee ◽  
Fahimeh Mohseni ◽  
Nafiseh Akbarian

Background: The economic pressure on Iranian families has increased in recent years. Objectives: This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of child abuse in three domains of physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect among a sample of elementary school children in Iran and compare the results with previous studies from Iran. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 400 elementary school children were selected through multistage cluster sampling from Shahroud, Iran, and assessed for all child abuse domains, except for sexual abuse, using a validated self-administered Persian questionnaire. Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the participants were collected. Data were statistically analyzed, and a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age of the participants was 10.83 years (SD = 1.9). Overall, 63.8%, 27%, and 90.3% of children reported emotional abuse, physical abuse, and neglect, respectively. There were significant associations between the mother’s employment status and neglect (P < 0.001), father’s education and physical child abuse (P = 0.03), and father’s smoking and emotional child abuse (P < 0.001). The results showed that lower levels of family socioeconomic status had significant effects on neglect (P = 0.006) and emotional child abuse (P = 0.003). Conclusions: Among the studied children, 73.8% declared at least one type of child abuse. It seems that the prevalence of neglect increased among school-aged children compared to previous studies from Iran. The low socioeconomic status of the family is significantly related to child abuse. Family physicians and school counselors play important roles in identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect. Therefore, they should be more involved in the prevention of child abuse.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document