HYDERABAD: Laying bare the apparent lack of facilities in government schools, a recently-released study found that there were more underweight children in Hyderabad government schools compared to private ones. This, despite the governments, both State and Centre, implementing several welfare schemes including the mid-day meal programme.
The study released in late May, titled “Assessment of underweight and its determinants among school going adolescents in Hyderabad” published in the Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development, examined 763 students aged between 13 and 16 years studying in 5 schools. It found that a whopping 402 children — more than half the number surveyed — were underweight.
The study, conducted in 2013-14, also found that of the 402 underweight children, 249 were from government schools. While it’s not surprising that the lack of nutrition is higher among children from low socio-economic groups, the study does pose a question on the effectiveness of the government’s nutritious meal programmes in those years when the study was done.
Indeed, the study makes a note of this trend. It says: “The risk of underweight increased 2.75 times among people of Class-III economic status, while it increased 3 times among Class-IV and V compared to those belonging to Class-I.” While Class-I refers to upper middle class, Class II and III refer to middle, lower-middle class respectively. Class IV and V represent the skilled working class. Interestingly, the study also found that non-vegetarians were at a less risk of being underweight compared to vegetarian counterparts.
“The risk of underweight was 1.97 times more among vegetarians compared to non vegetarians. Also, those who took less calories had 2.66 times more risk of being underweight compared to those consuming higher number of calories,” said the study. Among the 151 vegetarians in the study, a stunning 102 were found to be underweight. Similarly, though at a much lower rate, 300 of the 502 non vegetarians were found to be underweight too.
“Adolescents can easily access health and nutrition information through school and they can learn and adopt healthy habits to avoid nutritional problem in later life. However, parents need to provide more nutrients and emotional support,” added the study authors.