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Nimra Akhtar¹, Saima Zainab¹, Zumaira Sualeh¹, Hiba Arif¹, Muhammad Asad Sualeh² and Syeda Jaweria Abeer³

ABSTRACT

Objective: To compare the nutritional status of school children related to growth patterns studying in public and private schools of Karachi.

Study Design: Cross sectional comparative study

Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Department of Community Medicine, Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, Karachi from December 2021 to August 2022.

Materials and Methods: Cross sectional comparative study, Carried out among public and private school children. Non-probability purposive sampling was done to select   364 study participants from two private schools and four government schools. Height and weight of each participant was measured, which later plotted on CDC BMI-for-age growth chart. Mean and Standard Deviation was estimated for quantitative variable. Frequency and percentage was calculated for categorical variables. Student t-test was applied for finding mean differences among variables. Chi square and Fisher exact test was applied for finding association among categorical variables. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered as significant.

Results: A total of 364 participants were enrolled with mean age from 11 to 16 years. Taking into consideration BMI-for-age of the study subjects, 63.2% were healthy weight, 15.1% were underweight, 12.1% were overweight and 9.6% were obese. 58.2 % male students and 41.8% female students were observed in government schools.

Conclusion: This study will help the stakeholders in the local scenario to develop and improve school health services which are related to policies and programs.

Key Words: School Health Services, Growth Assessment, Nutritional Status, Body Mass Index, CDC growth chart

Citation of article: Akhtar N, Zainab S, Sualeh Z, Arif  H, Sualeh MA, Abeer SJ. Prevalence and Factors Associated with Growth Patterns of School Children in Karachi. Med Forum 2023;34(1):25-28.