Abstract

Background: Malnutrition is an important public health problem which involves infants and children. It is a self-perpet- uating problem which affects the mental and physical development of the child. The basic tool to quantify this burden is growth assessment in the form of anthropometry which is done under a national program called Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). Objectives: The present study was conducted to review and compare the prevalence of stunting and wasting, in rural and urban central India.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on rural (n=100) and urban (n=100), Anganwadi children for two months. All Anganwadi children (3-6 years) who were available at the time of examination and children below three 3 years of age at house visit were included in the study. Children with congenital defects were excluded from the study. A pretested and predesigned questionnaire was used to collect the data. Height and weight were measured according to standard guidelines. Data was analyzed using Epi Info version 7.
Results: In our study, the prevalence of stunting was found to be 37% and 22% in rural and urban areas respectively. The prevalence of wasting was found to be 33% and 20% in rural and urban areas respectively. There was a significant difference between grades of stunting (p=0.01) and wasting (p =0.05) among rural and urban children. Conclusion: In spite of the efforts taken by the government to cut down the rates of stunting and wasting through various programs, the effects of malnutrition still persists.