Nutritional disorders among children below 5 years in a rural community

Summary

30.2 per cent of children examined had nutritional disorders and 80.3 per cent of these nutritional disorders were in the 6-months to 4-years age groups. Protein calorie malnutrition was found in 1.9 per cent of children. The common deficiency signs observed were pale conjunctiva (18.3 per cent), bleeding spongy gums (0.9 per cent) pigeon chest (0.9 per cent), Bitot’s spots (4.9 per cent); retarded growth and skin changes (1.9 per cent each). It was observed that the lower the social class, the higher was the incidence of nutritional disorders. The maximum number of cases (67.2 per cent) were seen in vegetarian families. 26.8 per cent cases had delayed milestones. Children of birth order III had the maximum incidence of nutritional disorders. 69.3 per cent of children were 15–30 pounds in weight and 64.3 per cent had a height of 18–30 inches. There was a highly positive correlation between height and weight of the children.