International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences

| Peer-Reviewed |

Nutritional Status of Upper Primary School Pupils in a Rural Setting in Ghana

Received: 03 December 2013    Accepted:     Published: 20 December 2013
Views:       Downloads:

Share This Article

Abstract

Malnutrition continues to be a major problem among school-aged children in developing countries. In Ghana, there is not much documented data on the nutritional status of this category of children. Thus, this cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the nutritional status of 120 upper primary school pupils, comprising 60 males and 60 females in a rural setting. These pupils were randomly selected from 3 public schools in 3 villages with similar socioeconomic characteristics in the Atwima-Nwabiagya District of the Ashanti region of Ghana. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics and food consumption patterns of the pupils while an electronic bathroom scale and microtoise stadiometer were used to obtain their weights and heights, respectively. A 24-hour dietary recall was used to assess the nutrients and energy intakes and the ESHA food processor nutrients database was employed in the analysis of energy and nutrients. To assess stunting and underweight among the respondents, WHO/Epi software was used. T-test and chi-squared statistic were used to analyze differences between variables. The results of the study revealed that almost half of the pupils reported eating three times daily with breakfast and lunch mainly consumed from the school canteen. The 24-hour recall showed that the pupils did not meet their energy and nutrient requirements except for five out of the twelve nutrients investigated. The prevalence of stunting and underweight were 56.7% and 45.8%, respectively, among the respondents. More males than females were either stunted or underweight. However, no significant difference was found between males and females in the incidence of stunting and underweight. The prevalence of thinness also showed that 5% of the males were thin and 13.5% females were overweight/obese. It was concluded that the nutritional status of the respondents was poor since the incidence of stunting and underweight were high while energy and some nutrients were below the recommended intakes. The researchers recommended that there should be more effort in designing intervention programs to improve the quality of meals the pupils consume and also there should be more emphasis on nutrition education at the primary level in rural areas.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130206.19
Published in International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences (Volume 2, Issue 6, November 2013)
Page(s) 320-326
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Nutritional Status, Anthropometric Indicators, Nutrient Intakes, School-Aged Children, Rural Setting

References
[1] Shills, M. E., Shike, M., Ross, C. A., Caballero, B. and Cousins, R. B, Modern Nutrition in Health and Diseases (10th edition), Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, 2006, 818-823.
[2] Mahan, L. K. and Escott-Stump, S, Food, Nutrition and Diet Therapy (10th edition), WB Saunders Company, United States, 2000, 257-262.
[3] Williams, S.R. and Schlenker, E, Essentials of nutrition and diet therapy, 8th edition, The C.V. Mosby Co., St. Louis, 2003.
[4] Intiful, F.D. and Lartey, A, Breakfast habits of primary school children in the Manya Krobo District of the Eastern Region of Ghana. Thesis submitted to the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Ghana, Legon, 2006.
[5] Latham, M. C, Human Nutrition in Developing World, FAO Food and Nutrition Series, No. 29. Rome, Italy. 1997, 53-57, 189-200.
[6] Best, C., Neufingerl N, van Geel, van den Briel, T and Osendarp, S, The nutritional status of school-age children: why should we care? Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 31(3), 400-417, September, 2010.
[7] Srivastava, A., Mahmood, S.E., Srivastava, P.M., Shrotriya, V.P. and Kumar, B, Nutritional status of school-age children – A scenario of urban slums in India. Arch Public Health, April 2010 17;70(1):8. doi: 10.1186/0778-7367-70-8. Available: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22958757. Accessed August 6, 2013.
[8] Dabonè, C., Delisle, H.F. and Receveur, O, Poor nutritional status of schoolchildren in urban and peri-urban areas of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). Nutrition Journal, 19, 10-34, April 2011, Doi:1186/1475-2891-10-34. http:www.nsbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21504619. Accessed 8/6/2013.
[9] Jukes, M., McGuire, J., Method, F. and Sternberg, R, Nutrition: a foundation for development, Geneva: ACC/SCN, 2002, Available: http://www.bvsde.paho.org/texcom/nutricion/intnut2.pdf (August 4, 2013).
[10] Drake, L., Maier, C., Jukes, M., Patrikos, A., Bundy, D., Gardner, A. and Dolan, C, School-age children: their nutrition and health. Partnership for child development. 2002, Available http://www.childdevelopment.org/Lists/PCD%20Publications/Attachments/55/PCD%20ANNUAL%20REPORT%20LOW.pdf (15 July 2013).
[11] Department for International Development, A Second Chance for School Drop-out in Ghana, 2008. Available www. dfid.gov.uk. Accessed on 25/01/2009.
[12] Glewwe, P. and Jacoby, H, An economic analysis of delayed primary school enrollment and childhood nutrition in Ghana, 1994, LSMS Working Paper 98. World Bank, Washington DC.
[13] Bronte-Tinkew, J. and Dejong, G, Children Nutrition in Jamaica- Do Household Structure and Household Economic Resources Matter, Social Science and Medicine Journal, 55 (3), 499-514, 2003.
[14] Bertolis, S., Cardinal, S. and Veggiotti, P, Evaluation of Nutritional Status in Children. Nutrition Journal, 13(1), 5-13, 2006.
[15] Cataldo, C. B., DeBrunye, L. K. and Whitney, E. N, Nutrition and Diet Therapy (5th edition).West/Wadsworth Publishing Company, Belmont, 1999, 405-408.
[16] Ghana Statistical Services, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research & Macro International Inc., Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. Calverton, Maryland, 2003, 183-190.
[17] WHO, Obesity and overweight, Fact sheet No. 311, Geneva, 2011, Available: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311. Accessed September 30, 2013.
[18] Verity, C., Worsley, A. and Crawford, D, What are Grades 5 and 6 Children Buying from School Canteens and What Do Parents and Teachers Think about It? Journal of Dieticians Association of Australia, 61, 151-158, 2004.
[19] Insel, P.M. and Roth, W.T, Core concepts in health. Perspectives in Nutrition, (9th edition), MacGraw Hill Company, Mosby Year Book, New York, 2004, 32-50.
[20] Davies, J, Hammond’s Cooking Explained (4th edition). Addison Wesley Longman Limited, Singapore, 2002, 25-26.
[21] WHO and FAO, Vitamin and Mineral Requirements in Human Nutrition (2nd edition), Bangkok, Thailand, 2004.
[22] Gibson, R, Principles of Nutritional Assessment (2nd edition), Oxford Press, New York, 2005, 5-9, 253-258.
[23] Lau, E. M., Lynn, H., Chan, Y. H., Lau, W. and Woo, J, Benefits of Milk Powder Supplementation in Bone Accretion in Chinese Children. Osteoporosis International, 15(8), 654 -658, 2004.
[24] Damastuti, E., Ariyani, W.D., Santoso, M., Kurniawati, S. and Syahfiti, W.Y.N, Micronutrient daily intake of elementary schoolchildren in Bandung as determined by using NAA and AAS methods. Atom Indonesia, 37(2), 62-70, 2011.
[25] Osei-Boadi, K., Lartey, A., Marquis, G.S. and Colecraft, E. K, Dietary intakes and iron status of vegetarian and non-vegetarian children in selected communities in Accra and Cape Coast, Ghana. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 2012, ISSN 1684 5374, 12,1. Available: http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajfand/article/viewFile/75607/66144. Accessed August 4, 2013.
[26] Begum, R.M, Vitamins and Minerals. A Textbook of Foods, Nutrition and Dietetics, 3rd Edition, Sterling Publishers Private Limited, New York, 2010, 49-74.
[27] Rea. C. Factors that influence eating behavior, 2007, Available: http://www.revolutionhealth.com/articles?id=ug2146.
[28] Amos, P.M., Intiful, F.D. and Boateng, L, Factors that were found to influence Ghanaian adolescents’ eating habits. SAGE Open October-December 2012 vol.2 no.4 2158244012468140. Available: http://sgo.sagepub.com/content/2/4/2158244012468140.full. Accessed June 13, 2013.
[29] Puckree, T., Naidoo, P., Pillay, P. and Naidoo, T, Underweight and overweight in primary school children in eThekwini district in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. African Journal of Primary Health Care and Family Medicine, 3(1), Art. #203, 2011, 6 pages. doi:10.4102/phcfm.v3i1.203.
[30] Prista, A., Maia, J.A.R., Damasceno, A and Beunen, G,Anthropometric indicators of nutritional status: implications for fitness, activity, and health in school-age children and adolescents from Maputo, Mozambique, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 77 (4), 952-959, April 2003.
[31] Malekzadeh, J.M, Hatamipour, E and Afshoon, E, Protein-Energy Malnutrition in school children of Boirahmad Rural Areas, Iran, Iranian Journal of Public Health, 32 (3), 41-46, 2003.
[32] ACC/SCN, Overweight and Obesity: A New Nutrition Emergency, Geneva, 2005, ACC/SCN 2005:21.
[33] Adamu, A., Adjei, G.N.K. and Kubuga, K.C. (2012). Effects of dietary patterns on the nutritional status of upper primary school children in Tamale Metropolis, Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 11(7), 591-609, 2012.
[34] Owusu, A, O’Hara Murdock, P, and Weatherby, N.L, Measuring nutritional intake of adolescents in Ghana, West Africa, International Electronic Journal of Health Education, 10, 104-113, 2007.
[35] Intiful, F.D., Ogyiri, L., Asante, M., Amoako Mensah, A., Steele-Dadzie, R.K. and Boateng, L, Nutritional status of boarding and non-boarding children in selected schools in the Accra metropolis. Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare, ISSN 2225-093X, 3 (7), 2013.
[36] MO-NUPA-01, Adolescents Nutrition, Available: http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/healthyliving/childfamily/Documents/MO-NUPA-01 Adolescent Nutrition.pdf.
Author Information
  • Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana

  • Department of Home Economics Education, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana

  • Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana

Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Angelina Opoku Danquah, Adwoa Nyantakyiwaa Amoah, Clara Opare-Obisaw. (2013). Nutritional Status of Upper Primary School Pupils in a Rural Setting in Ghana. International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences, 2(6), 320-326. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130206.19

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Angelina Opoku Danquah; Adwoa Nyantakyiwaa Amoah; Clara Opare-Obisaw. Nutritional Status of Upper Primary School Pupils in a Rural Setting in Ghana. Int. J. Nutr. Food Sci. 2013, 2(6), 320-326. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130206.19

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Angelina Opoku Danquah, Adwoa Nyantakyiwaa Amoah, Clara Opare-Obisaw. Nutritional Status of Upper Primary School Pupils in a Rural Setting in Ghana. Int J Nutr Food Sci. 2013;2(6):320-326. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130206.19

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130206.19,
      author = {Angelina Opoku Danquah and Adwoa Nyantakyiwaa Amoah and Clara Opare-Obisaw},
      title = {Nutritional Status of Upper Primary School Pupils in a Rural Setting in Ghana},
      journal = {International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences},
      volume = {2},
      number = {6},
      pages = {320-326},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130206.19},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130206.19},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijnfs.20130206.19},
      abstract = {Malnutrition continues to be a major problem among school-aged children in developing countries. In Ghana, there is not much documented data on the nutritional status of this category of children. Thus, this cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the nutritional status of 120 upper primary school pupils, comprising 60 males and 60 females in a rural setting. These pupils were randomly selected from 3 public schools in 3 villages with similar socioeconomic characteristics in the Atwima-Nwabiagya District of the Ashanti region of Ghana. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics and food consumption patterns of the pupils while an electronic bathroom scale and microtoise stadiometer were used to obtain their weights and heights, respectively. A 24-hour dietary recall was used to assess the nutrients and energy intakes and the ESHA food processor nutrients database was employed in the analysis of energy and nutrients. To assess stunting and underweight among the respondents, WHO/Epi software was used. T-test and chi-squared statistic were used to analyze differences between variables. The results of the study revealed that almost half of the pupils reported eating three times daily with breakfast and lunch mainly consumed from the school canteen. The 24-hour recall showed that the pupils did not meet their energy and nutrient requirements except for five out of the twelve nutrients investigated. The prevalence of stunting and underweight were 56.7% and 45.8%, respectively, among the respondents. More males than females were either stunted or underweight. However, no significant difference was found between males and females in the incidence of stunting and underweight. The prevalence of thinness also showed that 5% of the males were thin and 13.5% females were overweight/obese. It was concluded that the nutritional status of the respondents was poor since the incidence of stunting and underweight were high while energy and some nutrients were below the recommended intakes. The researchers recommended that there should be more effort in designing intervention programs to improve the quality of meals the pupils consume and also there should be more emphasis on nutrition education at the primary level in rural areas.},
     year = {2013}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Nutritional Status of Upper Primary School Pupils in a Rural Setting in Ghana
    AU  - Angelina Opoku Danquah
    AU  - Adwoa Nyantakyiwaa Amoah
    AU  - Clara Opare-Obisaw
    Y1  - 2013/12/20
    PY  - 2013
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130206.19
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130206.19
    T2  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
    JF  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
    JO  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
    SP  - 320
    EP  - 326
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2327-2716
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130206.19
    AB  - Malnutrition continues to be a major problem among school-aged children in developing countries. In Ghana, there is not much documented data on the nutritional status of this category of children. Thus, this cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the nutritional status of 120 upper primary school pupils, comprising 60 males and 60 females in a rural setting. These pupils were randomly selected from 3 public schools in 3 villages with similar socioeconomic characteristics in the Atwima-Nwabiagya District of the Ashanti region of Ghana. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics and food consumption patterns of the pupils while an electronic bathroom scale and microtoise stadiometer were used to obtain their weights and heights, respectively. A 24-hour dietary recall was used to assess the nutrients and energy intakes and the ESHA food processor nutrients database was employed in the analysis of energy and nutrients. To assess stunting and underweight among the respondents, WHO/Epi software was used. T-test and chi-squared statistic were used to analyze differences between variables. The results of the study revealed that almost half of the pupils reported eating three times daily with breakfast and lunch mainly consumed from the school canteen. The 24-hour recall showed that the pupils did not meet their energy and nutrient requirements except for five out of the twelve nutrients investigated. The prevalence of stunting and underweight were 56.7% and 45.8%, respectively, among the respondents. More males than females were either stunted or underweight. However, no significant difference was found between males and females in the incidence of stunting and underweight. The prevalence of thinness also showed that 5% of the males were thin and 13.5% females were overweight/obese. It was concluded that the nutritional status of the respondents was poor since the incidence of stunting and underweight were high while energy and some nutrients were below the recommended intakes. The researchers recommended that there should be more effort in designing intervention programs to improve the quality of meals the pupils consume and also there should be more emphasis on nutrition education at the primary level in rural areas.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

  • Sections