Dietary Habits and Nutritional Status among Preschool Children: An Observational Study at Bagalkot

Abstract

Background: Knowing what eating habits are associated with a child's development can lead to better long-term health outcomes and improve dietary design interventions. We aimed to identify eating habits associated with the nutritional status of children between 3-6 years living in Chilapur Village of Bagalkot District. Methods: Dietary habits of preschool children were assessed with the aid of a structured score scale in an interview of mothers and fathers of preschool children. Anthropometric measurements like weight, height and mid-arm circumference have been taken to decide the nutritional status of preschool kids with help of Z rating received via WHO Anthro software. Results: Findings of the study reveals that 68% of preschool children had moderate dietary habits and 28% of them had poor eating habits and 4% of them had good eating habits. Nutritional Status assessed through anthropometric measurements shows that 39% of preschool children had moderate nutritional status according to their weight for age (≤-2 to +2 Score), 51% of preschool children had moderate nutritional status according to their height for age (≤-2 to +2 Score), and 48% of pre-school children had moderate nutritional status according to their Weight for height (≤-2 to +2 z score). A significant association was found between Dietary habits and Weight for age ( χ 2 = 8.69, p<0.05 ), Weight for height ( χ 2 = 9.12, p<0.05 ). A significant association was found between dietary habits and Family monthly income ( χ 2 = 10.58, p<0.05 ). Conclusion: Nutritional status of children aged between 3–6 years is of great health concern in India. A better nutritional diversity and meals variety and dietary styles characterized by intake of protein and calorie-rich diet seem beneficial for the growth of younger kids.