A Study on Assessment of Nutritional Status of Pre-school Children Attending Anganwadi Centres of Bagchung Block of Jorhat District, Assam

The present study has been undertaken to assess the nutritional status of pre-school children attending Anganwadi centres of Bagchung block of Jorhat district, Assam.200 children in the age group of 2-5 years were selected by random sampling method. The results of the study revealed that the mean height of the 2-5 years children was significantly lower than the 95th centiles values of height (ICMR)(p>0.05). The mean weight of the 2-5 years children was significantly lower than the 95th centile values of weight (ICMR)(p>0.05). According to WHO (2007) Z-scores of height-for-age revealed that 75% of the 2-5 years children were in the normal range of nutritional status whereas 25% were stunted. While the nutritional status was assessed in terms of WHO (2007) Z-scores of weight-for-age, it was revealed that 70% of the 2-5 years children were in the normal range of nutritional status while 30% were underweight. The study revealed that there was prevalence of undernutrition among the target children. Nutrition intervention programmes should be carried out to create awareness on importance of balanced diet and adequate nutrition as well as the importance of growth assessment during the early childhood years to overcome the problem of childhood malnutrition.