Food intake, Sanitary Practices and Nutritional Status of School-Aged Children (6-12years) Living in Orphanages in Lagos State, Nigeria

This study examined the food intake, sanitary practices and nutritional status of School-aged children in three 3 orphanages in Lagos State. The study was guided by four research questions and one hypothesis. It was a cross-sectional study carried out among one thousand, five hundred and four (1504) orphanage children between 6 and 12 years of age. The sample size for the study was one hundred and fifty (150) representing 10% of the population. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis. The results revealed that majority of the children eat three times daily. Sweet potatoes and rice were the most frequently consumed energy-giving foods. Fish, beans and eggs were the frequently consumed body building foods while orange, water melon and pineapple were the commonly consumed fruits. Majority (77.9%) of the children claimed they washed their hands regularly with soap and water. The prevalence of overweight and underweight using BMI-for-Age percentile shows that majority (74.4%) of the respondents were between 85th – 95th percentiles (Overweight), 22.1% fell below the 5th percentile (Underweight). Also, a significant difference exists between the nutritional status of the male and female children tcal>0.05. The study concluded that the prevalence of overweight among the orphanage children is relatively high and highlights the need for larger population-based studies to ascertain the overall prevalence within the state.