Nutritional Status and Some Sociodemographic and Lifestyle Characteristics among A Group of Rural School Children in Fayoum Governorate, Egypt

Background: In low and middle income countries, malnutrition especially among
children is an increasing health problem. According to Egyptian national surveys,
prevalence of malnutrition in school children is high, however, data is lacking at the
regional level. Objective: The current study aimed to assess the nutritional status, and
identify the socio-demographic and lifestyle factors affecting it among rural school
children. Methods: A school based cross sectional survey was conducted among rural
school children (6-17 years) in Manshit El Gamal village in Tamia district of Fayoum
Governorate, Egypt from October 2014 to April 2015. A sample of 736 students was
included in the study. Weight, height, and age were used to calculate z-scores of the three
different nutritional indicators. Sociodemographic, lifestyles and dietary habits were
collected using a pretested interview questionnaire. Results: Stunting (HAZ <-2SD),
underweight (WAZ<-2 SD), and wasting (WHZ <-2SD) were 34.2%, 3.4% and 0.8%
respectively, while over nutrition based on (WHO/NCHS) reference population BMI zscore
was 14.9%. Stunting was higher in females 36.2% than males 32.9% though not
significant. Whereas, obesity significantly decrease with age and was higher in males 17%
than females 12.1% with a significant different in the age group 10-13 years. Age, reduced
poultry consumption and escaping breakfast were risk factors for malnutrition, while daily
fruit consumption was a protective one. Conclusion: Malnutrition is highly prevalent in
rural school children of Fayoum governorate in line with the national prevalence and
significantly associated with children age, gender, mother’s education and regularity of
father’s work.