Factors Influencing the Nutritional Status Among Children of 6–11 Years of Age: A Case Study from an Indian Megacity

Abstract

The present study was aimed to assess the effect of socio-demographic, economic and dietary factors on nutritional status among children of 6–11 years of age in an urban megacity of India. It was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among 251 urban children living in slums, non-slums and squatters of North Kolkata. The study reveals that prevalence of underweight was much higher among children of squatters (66.7%), whereas a significant proportion of children belonged to non-slums were found overweight (23.7%). Although the prevalence of both underweight and overweight was more among girls (16.8% and 34.5%), stunting was found marginally higher among boys (18.9%) than girls (17.7%). The risk of being malnourished increases significantly with increasing number of own siblings, low educational status of mother, improper food intake, etc. Multi-pronged strategies are required to implement comprehensive nutrition–education programme for improving dietary habits among children.