Introduction
Health and physical consequences of prolonged states of malnourishment among children include delays in their physical growth and motor development, lower intelligence quotient (IQ) scores, greater behavioral problems and social skill deficiencies, susceptibility to contracting diseases, and others. The package of services provided by the ICDS scheme includes supplementary nutrition, immunization, health check-up, referral services, nutrition and health education, and preschool education. Micronutrient supplementation or fortification is currently being used as strategies to improve nutrition even in resource-poor settings since many girls and women are chronically undernourished. But for supplementary food supply through ICDS composition of micronutrients have been ignored.
Objective
The objective of the study was to find out the prevalence in rural selected villages in Birbhum District, West Bengal.
Methodology
Total 1211(615 male, 596 female) children with the age group 6 to 59 months were selected from the sampled villages. It included tribal, non-tribal, female, male i.e., from all castes (SC, OBC, General) and tribal community. Three ethnographic measurements were collected i.e. height, weight, mid-upper-arm circumference). An index of household economic status had been constructed in study area by using the information on household ownership of assets and dwelling characteristics such as electricity, sources of drinking water, and sanitation facility, and cooking fuel, main materials of floor, roof and wall using principal component analysis( STATA Version 12).
Conclusion
Prevalence of under-nutrition among under-five children is relatively high and varied widely depending on the assessment methodology adopted, and there are limited studies on assessment of over-nutrition.Education and training for mothers on exclusive breastfeeding practice, child care, and infection prevention protocol should be given and further strengthened at community level. ANC program for all pregnant women should be initiated and established at all levels. Policymakers should pay special attention to policies targeted at reducing under-five malnutrition.
