Assessment of Dietary Diversity and Nutritional Status of School Children of Ranchi District of Jharkhand

Background: Malnutrition among school children is still a major public health problem, particularly in the state like Jharkhand. A diverse diet is important for ensuring adequate intake of all essential nutrients for physical and mental development. Information on the dietary diversity and nutritional status of the children is scanty concerning the tribal belt of Jharkhand. Therefore, a study was undertaken to assess the dietary diversity score and prevalence of malnutrition among school children. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional survey involving 179 mothers and their 6 to 10 years old children covering 2 blocks and four villages of Ranchi district of Jharkhand. A pretested questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio-demographics. The 24-hour dietary recall method was used to calculate individual dietary diversity score (DDS based on a scale of 12 food groups) and the scores were divided into low = ≤ 4, medium = 5-8 and high = 9-12. Anthropometric measurements were taken following the standard techniques. The degree of malnutrition was calculated according to BMI in comparison with age/gender-specific centile values recommended by WHO. Result: Cereals (0.91±0.38) and Roots and Tubers (0.60±0.29) had higher mean DDS values, while fish (0.09±0.17) and milk and milk products (0.21±0.18) had the lowest value. While assessing the prevalence of malnutrition, 36.32% and 10.6% were found to be suffering from under nutrition and overweight, respectively.