Abstract

ANTHROPOMETRY AS AN INDICATOR OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS IN SUDANESE PREPUBERTAL SCHOOL CHILDREN (6-9 YEARS) AT ALFITAIH VILLAGE, KHARTOUM, SUDAN, SEPTEMBER 2014

Alaa Abbas Ahmed Ali*, Asma Abdelaal Abdalla, Asim Zaki Mohammed Zaki

ABSTRACT

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of malnutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight and obesity) , to assess the nutritional status of children using triceps skin fold thickness, to calculate total body fat percent for children, and to identify the socioeconomic status of households in the study area. Methodology: A total of 94 children from two basic schools were selected using stratified random sampling, Anthropometric measurements (weight, height and skin fold thickness) were recorded for each child according to WHO protocols. Scientific questionnaire was designed to collect information about families. Total body fat percent was calculated using Jackson and Pollok three site skin fold formula. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 and WHO anthro plus version 1.0.4. Results: Girls were 54, and 40 were boys. In 50% of families the income was between 1000-1500 SDG which is equivalent to 100-150$ Per month. About 63% of fathers were non-skilled labourers and 84% of mothers were housewives. For all children the prevalence of underweight was 22.34%, while obesity was 2.13%. Stunting prevalence was 23.15%. BMI was normal in 65.96% but 26.6%, and 2.13% had mild to moderate decrease in BMI (<-1 SD and< -2 SD) respectively. Triceps skin fold thickness measurements had shown that only 53.3% were between the 5th and 90th percentile according to national health and nutritional examination survey III (NHANES III) percentiles. Total body fat percent was normal in 44.12% only. Conclusion and recommendations: The study revealed high prevalence of under nutrition of different types and intensities; more research is needed by health authorities to determine the magnitude and causes of malnutrition in school children.

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