Prevalence of malnutrition and its impact on scholastic performance among 8-12 year children from 2 private schools of urban Meerut

Received 19 June 2017 Revised 22 August 2017 Accepted 31 August 2017 Early online 20 November 2017 Print 31 January 2018 Malnutrition is one of the largest public health problems in developing countries. India contributes 1/3 rd of total malnourished children in the world, with prevalence as high as 29.4%. Chronic malnutrition experienced during early life inhibits growth, retards mental development; reduce motivation and energy level, causing reduction in educational attainments. The purpose of this study was to assess the association of malnutrition with scholastic performance among 8–12 year children in 2 selected private schools in Meerut. This cross sectional study was done among 8–12 year school going children, with sample size of 384, taking the prevalence as 50%, precision as 10%. The private schools were selected randomly from the list of urban schools in Meerut. Malnutrition was assessed using anthropometric measurements and records from school were used to analyze scholastic performance. A total of 483 children across 2 private schools were evaluated wherein 29% of children were found to be malnourished. A significant association between malnutrition and scholastic performance was observed. In conclusion, nutrition have significant impact on the scholastic performance, with all programs running in government schools there is a need for a program in private schools as well. Corresponding author