Comparative Study of Nutritional Disparities among the School Children in Rural and Urban Areas of Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh

Malnutrition among school going children is one of the major health problems in India. School going age is a crucial period for physical, mental, emotional as well as cognitive development of children. In spite of so many efforts of government, the prevalence of underweight children in India is highest in the world. This study was conducted to find out the nutritional status of school children in rural and urban area of Varanasi district by using Anthropometry measurement. The data revealed that 29.7% school going children were severely malnourished, 21.3% were suffering from moderate type of malnutrition, 23.7% were had mild malnutrition while 25.3% school going children were normal. Therefore, the study suggested that there is a need for nutritional education so that the eating habit of school going children can be improved and in turn their nutritional status.