By Agbon, Chineze Anene Auth
Malnutrition perpetuates itself generation 'by generation, stunted adulthood anemia,
adolescent fractures and osteoporosis later in life are public health problems which
result from inadequate supply of nutrients in preschool diets and the prevalence being
more in the rural areas than in the urban areas. It is, therefore, the general objective of
this study to assess the nutritional status of preschool children living in the rural area. A
community-based study was carried out in the University of Agriculture Abeokuta
[UNAAB] extension villages in Ogun State southwestern part of Nigeria to determine
the nutritional status of preschool children living in those villages and to identify factors
that could have influenced their nutritional status. This location was chosen because
data on these rural communities are scarce. The children's nutritional status was studied
using anthropometric assessment, nutrient intake, clinical examination and biochemical
analysis. A questionnaire that solicited information on the children's demographic data
and maternal child care practices was used to identify caregiver's factors that could
have influenced their nutritional status. All preschool children aged between 2 and
5years that were not ill and whose parents agreed to be part of the study were sampled.
A total of 116 preschool children in nine villages formed the population for the study.
Data were analyzed using EPI Info version 3.3.2 and SPSS software package. Results of
the study showed stunting to be of moderate prevalence (22.5%) within the population.
Some (7.8%) of the preschool children were severely stunted and 21.6% of them were
at risk. Many of the children (16.4%) were wasted an indication of a current and long
duration malnutrition. Time allocated to child care was low (60-120mins) by 73% of the
mothers. Majority of the respondents (75.9%) complained of recurrent fever episodes
that affected their food intake during the periods and they also exhibited high intestinal
parasite load such as Ascaris lumbricodes that was positive in (39%) of the children. All
the respondents were zinc deficient, and only 5.2% and 19% of them were not anaemic
and calcium deficient, respectively. Clinical signs such as bone deformity were also
observed in 6.9% of the population. The rural diet consumed by the preschool children
in this study was found to be a simple monotonous one containing mainly roots, cereals,
beans and tuber. Dishes with negligible quantities of fish and meat and fruits were taken