Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
Open Access

Abstract

Nutritional status is a sensitive indicator of community health and nutrition among preschool children, especially the prevalence of undernutrition that affects all dimensions of human development and leads to growth faltering in early life. This study is an attempt to assess the nutritional status and food intake pattern of children of preschool Chakma tribe. It was a cross-sectional community-based study. The subjects were selected purposively. This study was conducted at Sadar Thana of Rangamati. Rangamati is located in the Chittagong Division. Anthropometric data on height and weight of the study subjects were collected by standard techniques. Nutritional status was measured using Z score according to WHO classification. Statistical analyses were performed by appropriate univariate and multivariate techniques using SPSS windows 11.5. Moderate to severe underweight was 23.8% and 76.2% study subjects had normal weight for their age. Moderate to severely stunted children were only 25.6% and 74.4% children were normal and moderate to severe wasting were 14.7% whereas normal child was 85.3%. The significant association had been found between child nutritional status and monthly family income, maternal education and occupation of father & mother. Age, sex of children and incomes of the family, education of mother and occupation of the father were significantly associated with WAZ and HAZ of the study subjects. Majority of study subjects took local small fish and some traditional tribal food like bamboo root, jhijhi insects and pork were very much popular food among tribal children. Energy, carbohydrate & fat intake was significantly associated with HAZ, WAZ, BAZ (BMI for age Z-score) and MUACZ. Most of the study subjects took local small fish and some traditional tribal food. A significant association was also found between child nutritional status and dietary intake of energy, carbohydrate and fat.

Biography

Md Monoarul Haque was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh and passed MPhil in Public Health under Faculty of Preventive and Social Medicine, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University collaboration with the University of Oslo. Presently he is doing his PhD under Faculty of Medical Studies in Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP). He got NOMA Grant from the University of Oslo, Norway for research. Besides he got one-year teaching & research fellowship Funded by USAID Developing Next Generation of Public Health Experts Project. Recently he has got Prime Minister Research Grant. He has a number of publications in International Open Access peer-reviewed index journals.

E-mail: monoarmunna@yahoo.com