NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS PARTICIPATING IN SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAMME IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

The primary school age-group (6-12 years old) is a stage marked wih physical growth, mental development and social adaptation of a child which lay the foundation for a good adult life. This study assessed the nutritional status of primary school pupils participating in the school feeding programme in Osun State. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 410 pupils from 18 schools. A structured interviewer’s administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on the personal and family characteristics of the respondents. Weight and height measurements were taken using standard anthropometric procedures and WHO Anthro-Plus software (v 1.0.4) was used to determine the nutritional status of the pupils. Data was analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, means, standard deviations, correlations and Chi-square methods. Results showed that 53.2% of the pupils were females, with mean age of 9.7±1.5 years, 56.6% were Muslims and 65.4% of the fathers were artisans. Majority (74.6%) were from monogamous homes with mean family size of 7.0±2.8 members and 68.3% made use of water closet. Prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting were 23.2%, 20.5% and 5.6% respectively. Chi-square showed significant association (p<0.05) between fathers’ occupation (x²=82.38; df=27), family size (x²=53.37; df=12), toilet facility (ᵡ²=36.08; df=9) and BMI-for-age Z-score; fathers’ occupation (x²=44.26; df=18), family type (x²=28.99; df=4), religion (x²=6.92; df=2) and weight-for-age Z-score as well as fathers’ occupation (x²=31.08; df=18), family type (x²=18.34; df=4) and height-for-age Z-score of the respondents. The study concluded that malnutrition (stunting and underweight) is a public health problem among the respondents.