Nutritional Status, Feeding Pattern and Clinical Symptomatology among Healthy Pediatrics Age Group in Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Nutritional status is considered the best indicator and a non-clinical approach to optimizing a child’s health care. It does not only directly reflect the socioeconomic status of the family but also, the efficiency of the health care system. The study aimed to assess clinical features and nutritional patterns in an apparently healthy pediatric age group. Methods: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional design carried out among school children aged 6 to 12 years. A multi-stage sampling method was used. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for sociodemographic data. Physical examination for signs of malnutrition and anthropometry was done. Feeding patterns and types of meals were recorded.  The WHO growth charts and BMI-for-age charts were used to compute Z-score (weight-for-age, height-for-age and BMI-for-age) and classify children into levels of nutritional status. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 and p-value < 0.05. Results: It was observed that forty-seven percent of children were from a <4 family size, with the majority belonging to the middle socio-economic class. The majority had normal height and weight, while 8.8% were stunted and 4.3% were underweight. On a daily basis, 95% of the children feed 3 to 4 times and 91% consume essential nutritional diets. 26.3% of the children had a persistent cough, 14.5% had persistent diarrhea, 14% had a fever, 10.3% had abdominal pain, and 3.8% were on routine medications. Conclusion: This study showed that most of the children had normal height and weight and their feeding pattern was adequate, although some were stunted and underweight and had disease symptoms. The fact that they appear healthy and are not present in the hospital does not suggest the absence of diseases. It is therefore important to do regular checkups for these children so as to monitor their growth, improve their health and prevent diseases.