A Comparative Assessment of the Epidemiology of Malnutrition among Pupils in Public and Private Primary School in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State

Abstract

Background: Majority of school children lack adequate amount of food, thereby inducing malnutrition, which now poses a serious threat to education, particularly in developing countries, including Nigeria. The importance of good nutrition in the proper and optimal development in childhood is indispensible because children are at a stage in life when all the tissues and cells are rapidly growing and organs are developed for specific functions in the child's life.
Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among pupils of selected Public and Private schools in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau state, Nigeria. A multistage sampling method was used to recruit the calculated sample size of 500 pupils; an interviewer administered questionnaires, weighing scale, measuring tape meter were the instrument used for data collection.
Results: The socio demographic data of 290 and 210 pupils of the public and private schools respectively were compared. The pupils' ranged between 5-17years with majority between 6-10 years in all the schools. Pupils in the private school were more nourished and had an appropriate weight-for-age more than 90% of the normal range with an ideal height-for-age of 48.0% more than those in the public school.
Conclusion: Nutritional imbalance can affect the educational outcome of the children amongst many other things. Measures such as school feeding should be introduced on a national scale in order to alleviate any deficiency state of the pupils.