Nutritional Status and Basic Hygiene Practices of Rural School Age Children of Savar Region, Dhaka, Bangladesh

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Published: Mar 14, 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/cajgh.2018.282
Keywords:
Children Nutritional status Hygiene Body Mass Index Bangladesh

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Sahadat Hossain
Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Fahad Ahmed
Department of Environmental Sciences, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Shakhaoat Hossain
Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Tajuddin Sikder
Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

Introduction: School children in the  developing countries are susceptible to nutrition related health problems due to demographic and socio-economic factors, as well as limited access to food. Since BMI is a common proxy measure used to evaluate nutritional status, the aim of this study was to investigate the BMI categories in school-aged children in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Methods: A cross sectional study of 155 children, aged 6-12 years was conducted at Jahangirnagar University School in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The data collection was performed by in-person interviews and semi-structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, ?2 test, Fisher’s exact test, and One-Way ANOVA test were performed to compare the variables based on BMI percentiles. Data were analyzed using the Microsoft Excel program (version 2010).

Results: Mean BMI of the students was 17.27 (SD=3.16). The prevalence of underweight and overweight/obesity was 11.0% and 25.8%, respectively. Categories of BMI percentiles were associated with birth order (p=0.026), personal hygiene practices (washing hands after coming home from outside (p<0.001) and before meal (p=0.045)), brushing teeth (p<0.001), the number of food items consumed daily (p<0.001), and mothers’ occupation (p=0.006). In context of basic hygiene practice, 61.3 % of respondents washed hands after coming home from outside, and 93.5 % reported washing hands before the meals.

Conclusions: This study revealed that more than one third of the students had abnormal BMI. BMI screening in rural schools needs to be recommended in early grades for all children.

Article Details

How to Cite
Hossain, S., Ahmed, F., Hossain, S., & Sikder, T. (2018). Nutritional Status and Basic Hygiene Practices of Rural School Age Children of Savar Region, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Central Asian Journal of Global Health, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.5195/cajgh.2018.282
Issue
Vol. 7 No. 1 (2018)
Section
Research

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