Nutritional Status and its Determinants in Toddlers: A case study of Hilly region of Uttarakhand

Background: Nutrition in early childhood is of utmost importance specifically for first 1000 days. (1) If in this phase nutrition is neglected, it drags the child into the trap of malnutrition. Aims & Objectives: The objectives were:  assess the nutritional status of children and identify the risk factors related to malnutrition in children (1-3) years. Methods & Material: Descriptive exploratory design- conducted in rural villages of Haldwani block, Uttarakhand. Multi stage random sampling technique was used to select 703 children of (1-3) years and their mothers. The children were screened for malnutrition and mothers were interviewed via semi – structured interview schedule. Results: It was found that, 74(11%) children were undernourished, 28 (3.9%) were wasted in mild category and 11 (1.5%) in moderate category. About 87 (12%) were found to be stunted in mild to moderate category. Children below 2.5kg at birth [(1.106, 3.817), p= 0.023], non-initiation of breast feed in one hour [(0.979, 3.344), p=0.055], delayed initiation of weaning [(1.162,4.026), p=0.013] and recurrent illness [(1.187,3.447), p=0.009] were factors associated with malnutrition in children at 95% CI. Conclusion: It is very important to follow up the identified malnourished children so that in the preschool age the nutritional status can be improved

Nutritional status and associated comorbidities among the elderly in Doiwala block, Dehradun

Background: Ageing is an irreversible biological process which starts from conception and ends after death. Elderly population is at risk of under nutrition due to physical, cognitive as well as functional decline. Increasing ill health and increasing disability are linked with nutritional risk indicators. Nutritional deficiencies in geriatric age group are common and often subclinical thus escaping the desired interventions. Hence, this study was undertaken to collect information on nutritional status and associated comorbidities of this population. Aims & Objectives: 1.To assess the nutritional status and associated morbidities among the elderly. 2. To suggest appropriate measures to improve their health. Material methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the elderly people in the field practice area of Rural Health Training Centre (RHTC), HIMS, Dehradun for a period of 3 months. A total of 192 individuals of ≥60 years were interviewed. Pre-structured Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) questionnaire was used. Data are presented as mean values and standard deviations and significance level chosen at p < 0.05. Result: Out of total 192 elderly (≥60 years) interviewed, 48.4% were males and 51.6% were females. The mean weight (Kg) was 54.65 ± 13.44 (25-94) and mean BMI (Kg/m2) was 22.30 ± 5.08 (12.57-44.64).According to MNA there were 20.83 % malnourished and 43.7 % were at risk of malnutrition and this was  positively associated with age (p – 0.004) and female gender (p – 0.0001). According to MNA-SF (MNA short form), 17.2 % were malnourished while 45.3% were at risk of malnutrition and followed the same pattern of age and sex as in MNA. BMI analysis showed that 21.8% were malnourished, 15.4% were overweight and 7.4% were obese. Comorbidities were found to be more in malnourished group as compared to the well-nourished. Conclusion: Due to the high prevalence of elderly who were malnourished or at risk of malnutrition, a more detailed evaluation, regular follow up & dietary intervention to reverse the situation is required

Overweight and Obesity in School Children of a Hill State in North India: Is the Dichotomy Urban-Rural or Socio-Economic? Results from a Cross-Sectional Survey.

Overweight and obesity are a public health problem in India not only in adults but also in children. The authors sought to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in school-going children of 6-17 years of age and examine its demographic and dietary correlates in context of their urban-rural status and socio-economic status.In this cross-sectional survey height and weight were measured in 1266 school children in government and private schools of urban and rural areas. Dietary assessment was done using single day 24-hour dietary recall method. The data were analyzed using SPSS (IBM SPSS Statistics Version 19) and WHO AnthroPlus Software. Factorial ANOVA was used for testing interaction within and between subgroups for continuous variables and Chi-square test was used for categorical variables.It was found that the overall prevalence of overweight was 15.6% of which 5.4% were obese, with maximum prevalence in boys attending urban private schools. The mean caloric intake in the study population with 24-hour dietary recall method was 1558.2 kilocalories (SD: 428 kilocalories).Overweight and obesity is a significant problem in school-going children. Higher socio-economic status continues to remain an important driver of this epidemic in the younger generation and affects demographic and dietary determinants of this problem

Association between mean 24 hour caloric intake (Kcal) and overweight/obesity.

<p>Association between mean 24 hour caloric intake (Kcal) and overweight/obesity.</p

Demographic characteristics for study participants.

<p>Demographic characteristics for study participants.</p

Caloric intake of participants of four nutritional categories.

<p>Caloric intake of participants of four nutritional categories.</p

Nutritional status of participants according to gender in each sub-group.

<p>Nutritional status of participants according to gender in each sub-group.</p

Dietary correlates of overweight and obesity.

<p>Dietary correlates of overweight and obesity.</p

Outline of the study Process.

<p>Outline of the study Process.</p