ABSTRACT

Every country needs a well nourished population of children for a productive future. Therefore, combating malnutrition in our communities should be an issue to policy makers. This is a cross-sectional survey used to determine determinants of anthropometric. The study was conducted using a multistage sampling technique to select 235 mother-child pairs. I)ata were collected from the mothers, using a st1'uctured interview schedule and anthropometric measurements of their children were taken to determine the prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting. The data obtained were analyzed using frequency distribution and percentages. Pearson product moment correlation was used to determine the relationship between the socio-economic background of the school-aged children, dietary history of the children and their anthropometric status. Twenty percent (20%) of the children were 10 years, 80.4% were living with their parents, 52.3% were 5-8 in their house. According to the socioeconomic characteristic of their parents, 43.4% and 40.9% of their fathers and mothers went to secondary school, 31.9% and 31.9% of their fathers and mothers were civil servants while 22.6% and 28.5% were into trading business. About 61.7% and 69.4% of their mothers earned less than 50,000 a month while 24.3% and 21.3% earned between 50,00O to N100,000. Similarly, 75.7% of their fathers usually provide money for food in their household, 72.8% lived in bungalow, 69.4% used water closet. Majority (77.9%) of the respondents used tap water which was treated by 44.7% of them and 34% of them used boiling method to treat their water. Most of them (67.2%) ate 3 times a day, 43.4% ate fruits three times a day, 3 5.3% take vegetable 4 times a week or more. Prevalence of stunting and wasting was among 21.7% and 1.3% ofthe children respectively. Educational status, occupation and income level of the parents significantly determined the children's dietary habit and nutritional status. Based on these facts, there is need for the parents of these children to be educated on the effect of stunting in their children's development as to ensure they work harder to adequately feed them.