Nutritional Profile and Impact of Nutrition Counseling on the Nutrition Knowledge Mental Capacities and Physical Activity Level of Selected School Going Children of Kochi

Abstract

Back ground This study was undertaken to assess the nutritional status and to find out the impact of nutrition counseling on the nutrition knowledge, mental capacities and physical activity level of the selected school going children of Kochi. School going children go through remarkable physical changes of all kinds; their food intake becomes a critical aspect for the growth and development. During their growing period, care should be taken to include all the nutrients in their diet. A balanced diet is required for the overall development of the school child. Methodology A total of 1058 children were selected by cluster sampling method, Out of them 265 boys and 251 girls were from rural area and 304 boys and 238 girls from urban area who participated in the study. Urban and rural children in the age group of 10 12 years who had regular attendance in school were studied. General information, socioeconomic status, 24 hour dietary recall method was collected by interview method. Nutrient intake was calculated and compared with the recommended dietary allowances. All the children were tested for nutrition knowledge, mental capacity and physical activity with the pre tested questionnaire. Nutrition counseling was given to the children and their mothers using power point presentations, food festivals and audio visual aids for three months and the same questionnaire was used for post testing to find out the impact of the counseling on both the children and mothers. Results Of the total no of 1058 school children who participated in the study, boys outnumbered the girls in the urban area while it was the reverse in the rural area. Both in the rural and urban area there was a greater percentage of Christians, Hindus and Muslims were the other major religions. 66.9% of the children were from the nuclear families and 33.1 % from the joint families. The school children were either non-vegetarian, vegetarian and lacto ova vegetarians.