ORIGINAL  
Niger J Paed 2014; 41 (3):175 –180  
Ndukwu CI  
Egbuonu I  
Ulasi TO  
Nutritional status and sociodemo-  
graphic characteristics of ‘urban  
poor’ school children in Onitsha,  
Southeast Nigeria  
DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njp.v41i3,5  
Accepted: 11th February 2014  
Abstract Background: The ne-  
glect of the health and nutritional  
status of school aged children has  
adverse consequences on their  
long term cognition and survival.  
Sequel to emerging issues on ur-  
banization and the health of  
school children, this study fo-  
cused on the nutritional status and  
sociodemographic characteristics  
of ‘urban poor’ school children in  
Onitsha, a major city in South  
East Nigeria.  
Objectives: The study was aimed  
at determining the nutritional  
status and evaluating the effect of  
certain sociodemographic factors  
on the nutritional status of ‘urban  
poor’ public primary school chil-  
dren in Onitsha, South East Nige-  
ria  
interviewer administered standard-  
ized questionnaires. Analysis was  
done using Microsoft Office Excel  
2007, SPSS version 17 and Epi-  
info version 3.5.1 software pack-  
ages  
Results: Stunting was the predomi-  
nant form of under nutrition with a  
higher prevalence in the slum resi-  
dent children. Greater than 60% of  
all the children studied were from  
large families with more than 4  
children. Family size, however,  
age and gender were not signifi-  
cantly associated with the nutri-  
tional status of the children. Rela-  
tively though, a greater percentage  
of the stunted children were from  
large families.  
Conclusion: The nutritional status  
of ‘urban poor’ school children  
especially in slums in Onitsha is  
suboptimal compared with their  
counterparts in developed coun-  
tries of the world. There is need  
for regional studies of children  
with similar characteristics who  
should be considered when favour-  
able health policies are being made  
for children.  
( )  
Ndukwu CI  
Egbuonu I, Ulasi TO  
Department of Paediatrics  
Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching  
Hospital Nnewi.  
Anambra State, Nigeria.  
Email: ifeyc@yahoo.com  
Method: This was a cross sec-  
tional study of 788 children aged  
6
to 12 years, randomly selected  
from 12 public primary schools in  
Onitsha metropolis. Their anthro-  
pometric measures were used to  
determine their nutritional status.  
Data on their sociodemographic  
characteristics was obtained from  
their parents or caregivers using  
Introduction  
Hundreds of millions of children in the world’s urban  
areas are growing up amidst scarcity and deprivation  
with increasing incidence of childhood malnutrition and  
The nutritional status of children plays a central role in  
their health, with malnutrition accounting for 45% of all  
deaths among children under the age of five and stunting  
4
,6  
its complications . Certain sociodemographic charac-  
teristics like age, gender and birth order have also been  
1
7,8,9  
found to influence their health and nutritional status .  
growth among a further 165 million . With the progres-  
sive success of various child survival programmes, more  
children are reaching school age (ages 6 to 12) . Unfor-  
There is need to study the prevailing characteristics in  
different areas so as to identify those that need specific  
interventions.  
2
tunately, minimum attention has been paid to the health  
and nutritional status of the school aged child, especially  
in developing countries with more emphasis laid on im-  
This cross sectional study is focused on ‘urban poor’  
public primary school children residing in slum and non-  
slum areas of Onitsha, Anambra state with the aim of  
drawing attention to their needs. Not all of the urban  
poor live in slums, and not every inhabitant of a slum is  
3
proving their educational access . However, undernour-  
ished and unhealthy school children will fail to reach  
their full cognitive potential with ultimate reduction in  
intellectual achievement in school, and poor work ca-  
3
,4,5  
4
pacity later on in adulthood  
.
poor . However, most of the poor are known to attend  
1
76  
the public schools that are ‘tuition free’ in the state  
while the ‘well off’ send their children to fee paying  
pared with the median for the age according to the 2007  
WHO charts.  
1
0
private institutions . The results from this study will  
provide evidence on school-age malnutrition in this part  
of the country, drawing attention to the need for effec-  
tive interventional strategies that will improve the health  
outcome of these children.  
Result  
Complete data and measurements were obtained from  
7
88 children.  
Method  
Demographic characteristics  
This was a cross sectional study conducted in Onitsha  
from September to November, 2010. Onitsha is a  
The children studied included 398 males and 390 fe-  
males. Male: female ratio was 1.02:1 and the mean age  
of the respondents was 8.9±1.9years. (Table 1) Ten year  
olds accounted for the greatest percentage (22.3%) of  
children recruited. Table 2 shows the sociodemographic  
characteristics of the children studied in the slums and  
non-slum areas. Most of the respondents were from mo-  
nogamous families and from families with more than  
four children. (69% in the slums and 64% in the non-  
slums).  
riverine port on the Eastern bank of the River Niger. It is  
the most rapidly expanding commercial centre in East-  
1
1
ern Nigeria . Densely populated with four reco1gnized  
1
slum areas, major parts lack basic social services .  
Children of school age in public schools in the slums  
and non slum areas formed the study population. Twelve  
schools were randomly selected for the purpose of this  
study; six were located in the slum areas making up ap-  
proximately 30% of all the public primary schools in the  
slum areas while the corresponding numbers of public  
schools were located in the non slum areas. The subjects  
were selected by the stratified multistage random  
method. A sample2 size of 384 was determined using a  
Table 1: Age and Sex distribution of the study population per  
area  
Age  
Slum  
Non slum  
Total  
(in years)  
n=788(%)  
Male  
Female  
n=398 (%)  
n=390(%)  
1
standard formula .  
6
7
8
62 (15.6)  
44 (11.1)  
62 (15.6)  
62 (15.9)  
46 (11.8  
64 (16.4)  
124(15.7)  
90(11.4)  
126(16.0)  
Approval for this study was obtained from the Ethical  
Committee of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching  
Hospital as well as the Anambra state Universal Basic  
Education Board. Children were recruited prorate based  
on the school population and their age and sex distribu-  
tion. Consenting parents or guardians were invited to the  
schools to provide answers to interviewer-administered  
questionnaires on the demographic characteristics of the  
participants. Excluded from the study were those whose  
parents declined consent and those who had obvious  
chronic ailments. The children's weights and heights  
were subsequently measured using standard methods. A  
9
1
48 (12.1)  
88 (22.1)  
44 (11.3)  
88 (22.6)  
92(11.7)  
176(22.3)  
0
11  
60 (15.1)  
34 (8.5)  
50 (12.8)  
110(14.0)  
70(8.9)  
1
2
36 (9.2)  
8.9±1.9  
Mean Age ±SD 8.9±1.9  
Table 2: Sociodemographic characteristics of the children  
2
Demographic  
Slum group Non-slum  
X
p-value  
characteristics n=394 (%)  
group  
n=394 (%)  
‘Hana’ bathroom scale, model BR 9011, ISO 9001:2000  
Family setting  
certified by SGS, was used to measure the weights of  
the children, dressed in lightweight gowns or pants. The  
weight was recorded to the nearest 0.5kilogramme. The  
scale needle was returned to zero before daily weighing  
and thereafter, a known weight was placed to assess the  
reliability of the scale. The heights were measured to the  
nearest 0.5 centimetre with a special locally constructed  
Monogamy  
365 (92.6)  
22 (5.6))  
7 (1.8)  
357 (90.6)  
26 (6.6)  
1.29  
0.525  
Polygamy  
*
Others  
11 ( 2.8)  
Number of children  
≤
>
DNK  
4
4
118 (30)  
272(69)  
4(1.0)  
130 (33)  
253(64.2)  
11(2.8)  
2.42  
df=1  
0.120  
0.299  
1
3
wooden stadiometer . Random re‑measuring of the  
weights and heights of some of the children was done to  
assure quality.  
Bsitrth Order  
1
2
3
4
66(16.8)  
64(16.2)  
75(19.0)  
63(16.0)  
118(30.0)  
8 (2.0)  
81(20.6)  
67(17.0)  
69(17.5)  
52(13.2)  
110 (27.9)  
15 (3.8)  
2.41  
nd  
rd  
Data analysis was done using Microsoft Office Excel  
th  
2
007, SPSS version 17 and Epi-info version 3.5.1 soft-  
>
DNK  
4
ware packages. The statistical tests were carried out at  
significance (p value) of less than 0.05. The z-scores for  
the anthropometric indices were obtained using WHO/Z  
Ethnic group  
Ibos  
Non Ibos  
360 (91.4)  
34 (8.6)  
388 (98.5)  
6 ( 1.5)  
20.65 0.000  
-score reference (2007), and the WHO/NCHS 1978 in-  
ternational reference standards (Epi-nut from epi-info  
version 3.5.1). The anthropometric indices were com-  
*Others - widowed, divorced, separated  
1
77  
Nutritional Status and association with sociodemo-  
graphic factors  
There was a significant difference between the mean  
weight and height of children in both communities.  
( Table 5) Children from the non-slum area were signifi-  
cantly heavier and taller than their slum counterparts.  
Male school children from the slums were significantly  
shorter than their counterparts in the non-slum areas  
(t=3.09, p=0.002). The mean weights and heights for  
children of same age and gender from the 2007 WHO  
charts were all greater than the means from the study  
population. Figures 1 and 2 are illustrations of approxi-  
mate mean weights and heights of the children accord-  
ing to gender and area of residence, and compared with  
WHO mean weights and heights for children of same  
age and gender.  
Stunting was the predominant form of under nutrition in  
the children with significantly higher prevalence in the  
slum than in the non slum areas. Table 3 shows the  
prevalence and patterns of under nutrition in all the chil-  
dren. Prevalence of underweight was 11.5% in the slum  
2
and 6.3% in the non slum area (X =4.85, p=0.028), and  
for stunting was 16.8% in the slum compared to 6.6% in  
2
the non slum area (X =19.81, p=0.000).  
Table 3: Nutritional status of the children  
2
Nutritional status  
Slum  
n (%)  
Non slum  
20 (6.3)  
27(6.9)  
X
P-value  
Underweight  
35 (11.5)  
66 (16.8)  
4.85  
19.81  
0.67  
0.028  
Table 5: Mean anthropometric parameters by age and  
gender in both groups  
(6-10years)  
n=304(%)  
Stunting  
0.000  
Characteristic  
Study  
group  
Control  
group  
t-test  
P-value  
(6-12 years)  
n=394 (%)  
Wasting  
n=394  
n=394  
4 (1.3)  
2 (0.7)  
F=0.685  
Mean ± SD  
Mean ±SD  
(
n=304(%)  
6 -10 years)  
Mean Weight (kg)  
Mean Height(cm)  
26.9±6.2  
129.6±10.7  
28.1±7.3  
132.4+11.2  
2.39  
3.50  
0.017  
0.000  
299 (98.7)  
301(99.3)  
Age  
6
years  
Sex  
Female  
n=31  
Six year old males had the highest prevalence of under-  
weight. The mean age of the underweight children was  
less than the mean age of the normal. Ten year olds in  
the slums (28.8%) and 12 year olds in the non-slums  
Weight  
Height  
Weight  
Height  
Weight  
Height  
Weight  
Height  
Weight  
Height  
Weight  
Height  
Weight  
Height  
Weight  
Height  
Weight  
Height  
Weight  
Height  
Weight  
Height  
Weight  
Height  
Weight  
Height  
Weight  
Height  
19.6±2.5  
116.1± 6.5  
19.7±2.8  
113.9±4.5  
22.2±2.5  
122.3±5.7  
21.6± 2.7  
120.1 ±6.2  
24.8±3.1  
127.8±5.5  
24.5±2.6  
126.1±5.5  
26.9±3.6  
131.1±5.0  
26.6±2.4  
129.8±6.2  
28.3±3.2  
133.7±5.3  
29.3±4.5  
134.2±6.2  
33.4±4.7  
140.7±8.0  
31.6±3.8  
136.8±6.6  
37.5±5.3  
143.5±7.8  
35.6±4.1  
143.2±4.8  
20.3±3.3  
117.4± 5.7  
20.5±2.1  
117.4±5.3  
22.4±2.2  
122.0±4.7  
22.7± 2.6  
122.4±4.4  
24.9±3.2  
127.8±5.9  
25.4 ±2.4  
129.0±4.4  
27.4±3.4  
132.1±5.8  
28.4±4.5  
134.3±6.2  
32.2±8.4  
139.5±6.8  
30.6±4.6  
137.3±7.3  
32.6±4.6  
140.4±7.0  
31.8±5.0  
140.3±7.0  
40.1±8.7  
149.2±6.3  
36.5±5.5  
144.1±6.3  
0.958  
0.811  
1.22  
0.342  
0.421  
0.228  
0.007  
0.777  
0.822  
0.163  
0.143  
0.827  
0.957  
0.165  
0.026  
0.638  
0.568  
0.950  
0.017  
0.005  
0.000  
0.194  
0.035  
0.575  
0.889  
0.851  
0.049  
0.281  
0.022  
0.623  
0.649  
Male  
n=31  
2.79  
7
years  
Female  
n=23  
0.284  
0.337  
1.42  
1.49  
0.218  
0.55  
1.40  
2.29  
0.473  
0.575  
1.70  
(
29.6%) had the highest prevalence of stunting. More  
males were stunted than females though not signifi-  
cantly. Only one female child was overweight in this  
study.  
Male  
n=22  
8
years  
Female  
n=32  
Male  
n=31  
Family size was not significantly associated with the  
nutritional status of the children Table 4. Relatively, of  
all from families with less than 4 children, only 11.9%  
were stunted as against 18% of children from the fami-  
lies with more than 4 children in the slums (not repre-  
sented). In the non-slum areas, 6.2% of all from families  
with less than 4 children were stunted compared with  
9
years  
Female  
n=22  
Male  
n=24  
2.48  
2.90  
4.51  
1.31  
10  
years  
Female  
n=44  
Male  
n=44  
2.15  
6
.7% amongst those from families with more than 4  
1
1
Female  
n=25  
0.564  
0.142  
0.189  
2.01  
1.09  
2.39  
years  
children. No significant association was equally demon-  
strated between the birth order of the children and their  
nutritional status.  
Male  
n=30  
1
2
Female  
n=18  
years  
Table 4: Family size, birth order and Stunting in the Children  
Male  
n=17  
0.496  
0.459  
Mean anthropometric measures in both localities  
2
2
Demo-  
graphic  
factor  
Stunting  
Slum  
X
P-  
val  
ue  
Stunting  
Non-Slum  
X
P-  
value  
Yes  
n=66  
No  
n=328  
(%)  
Yes  
n=27  
(%)  
No  
n=367  
(%)  
Fig 1: Mean  
(%)  
weights of girls (per  
age group) in study  
Family size  
≤
4
14  
104  
(31.7)  
3.46  
df=2  
0.1  
77  
8(29.6)  
17(63)  
2 (7.4)  
122  
(33.2)  
1.08  
df=1  
0.298 areas and mean  
(21.2)  
from WHO (2007  
charts)  
>
4
49  
223  
(68)  
236  
(64.3)  
(74.2)  
DNK  
3 (4.6)  
1(0.3)  
9(2.5)  
Birth order  
st  
th  
1
to 4  
41  
226  
(68.9)  
1.16  
df=1  
0.2  
82  
14  
(51.9)  
254  
(69.2)  
3.48  
df=1  
0.61  
(62.1)  
th  
>
4
22  
97  
11  
100  
(33.4)  
(29.6)  
(40.7)  
(27.2)  
DNK  
3 (4.5)  
5 (1.5)  
2 (7.4)  
13  
(3.5)  
1
78  
Fig 2: Mean heights of boys (per age group) in study areas and  
mean from WHO (2007 charts)  
The index study was carried out in a Sub Saharan devel-  
oping country characterized by widespread poverty with  
inequitable distribution of wealth and non-existence of a  
social security system. The United States, a Western  
developed country, has existing policies that result in  
social and health stability. Concomitantly, the mean  
anthropometric indices in the urban poor children were  
all low compared with the value from the WHO growth  
charts for corresponding age and gender. The charts  
were modified from the 1977 NCHS/WHO growth  
curves deriv9ed from a healthy, non-obese Caucasian  
1
population. It is disheartening that these children are  
still disadvantaged more than three decades later.  
Over nutrition is not a problem amongst the urban poor  
in this part of Nigeria, contrary to findings in the devel-  
oped20,w21orld where the prevalence has shown a steady  
rise.  
This is expected as the Western diets of high  
saturated fats, sugars, and refined food is expensive and  
not readily available to the poor in this part of the world  
unlike in the developed countries. Studies on Nigerian  
children have equally reported an increased prevalence  
of over nutriti2o2n,23in children from the higher socioeco-  
nomic classes.  
Discussion  
The nutritional status of school age children in public  
primary schools in Onitsha is sub-optimal and concurs  
with the pattern in national 1s3t,1u4d,1i5es of the nutritional  
status of Nigerian children.  
Similar to findings  
Some sociodemographic characteristics contributed to  
the nutritional status of the study population. The mean  
age of those who were underweight was lower than that  
of the general population possibly because older chil-  
dren may be self sufficient, resorting to other measures  
such as begging, performing menial jobs and scavenging  
to satisfy their hunger. The higher mean age for the  
stunted children corresponds with other findings that  
have demonstrated the ‘progression of height deficit’  
with the increasing age of children. Stunting is a reflec-  
tion of longstanding under nutrition occurring from a  
cumulative process of pre-natal and early childhood  
malnutrition and stunted children are likely to remain  
stunted even 2i4nto adulthood if they remain in a deprived  
environment.  
from these studies, stunting had the highest prevalence,  
followed by underweight suggesting that these children  
have been exposed to long standing conditions that are  
inimical to good health and nutrition.  
The prevalence of underweight and stunting in the slums  
of 11.5% and 16.8%, respectively are similar though  
marginally higher than the results of the 2004 Nigerian  
Demographic and health survey Ed Data Survey (the  
most recent National survey focused on school-age chil-  
dren) of 11% underweight and 13% stunting amongst  
school age children4from South East Nigeria, which is  
1
the study location. The Nigerian economy has been  
retrogressive in the past decade with increasing number  
of hungry, extremely poor people, which may be partly  
responsible for the non improvement in the nutritional  
status in this index study compared with the National  
study conducted 6years earlier. The lower prevalence of  
That males were generally most affected by under nutri-  
tion is similar to 1o3t,1h4e,2r4 findings in Nigeria and other  
parts of the world.  
This may be attributable to the  
6
.3% underweight and 6.9% stunting in the non-slum  
later onset of pubertal growth spurt in males and the  
findings that males usually start lif2e5 at a disadvantage  
sustained even up to school age. Uthman found a  
higher prevalence of stunting and underweight among  
males with gender having t1h7e strongest independent  
effect on the risk of stunting. A contradicting finding  
in India was postulated to be due to gender bias an9d pa-  
rental preferences for male children in their society.  
areas suggests interplay of factors like the environment  
and abject poverty in the slum areas. The higher preva-  
lence of under nutrition in high density areas in other  
parts of the country may be due to other factors that af-  
fect the nutritional status of children such as the educa-  
tional status of the parents as well as other socioeco-  
nomi1c3,1a5n,1d6,1e7nvironmental factors that need to be identi-  
fied.  
The two groups studied were selected from  
public, non-fee paying primary schools with the aim of  
assessing children from the lower social strata of the  
society. However, an assessment of the social class  
showed that more children from the slum areas were  
from the lower strata. This may be responsible for the  
greater prevalence of stunting in that group.  
Poorer nutritional status has been documented in  
childr,9en of higher birth order and from larger household  
8
size. The relative association noted with twice the  
percentage from bigger family size being stunted in this  
study is expected because with more mouths to feed, the  
individuals may likely get smaller portions. In India  
equally, children from joint families were found to be  
more likely to suffer chronic malnutrition th9an those  
from nuclear families which are smaller in size.  
The prevalence of under nutrition in this study sharply  
contrasts with the 2.7% reported for school-aged chil-  
1
8
dren in the United States of America. The disparity is  
not surprising as under nutrition is rooted in poverty.  
1
79  
Conclusion  
Conflict of Interest : None  
Funding: None  
The nutritional status of ‘urban poor’ school children in  
this study is suboptimal and associated with certain  
demographic characteristics like family size, age and  
gender. It is evident however, that there may be some  
interplay of other factors especially the social class and  
certain environmental characteristics, which may be why  
the slum resident children had worse nutritional status.  
There is need for further studies focusing on the social  
classification in terms of the educational level of the  
parents, their occupation and income, and environmental  
characteristics to get a holistic picture of the reasons for  
the prevalent malnutrition. It is also recommended that a  
school-based feeding programme should be introduced  
in public primary schools in the area of study.  
Acknowledgements  
We are grateful to Dr Onyeonoro, a public health physi-  
cian, Mr Kenechukwu Odumodu, an accountant with  
Schlumberger company, Ghana and Engr. Ikechukwu  
Odumodu, an author and director of a private school in  
Nigeria, who helped with different areas of the analysis.  
Dr Ndukwu Chibuzo is greatly acknowledged for his  
support during the entire study.  
References  
1
0. Srivastava A, Mahmood SE,  
18. Uthman O.A. Using extended con-  
centration achievement indices to  
study socioeconomic inequality in  
childhood malnutrition: the case of  
Nigeria. Int J Equity 2009; 8 .  
19. Fryar CD, Ogden CL. Prevalence  
of underweight among children  
and adolescents: United States,  
2003-2006. National Health and  
Nutrition Examination Sur-  
1
.
The daily impact. Global health  
news and commentary: Lancet  
series shows malnutrition causes  
Srivastata PM, Shrotriya VP,  
Kumar B. Nutritional status of  
school-age children - A scenario of  
urban slums in India. Archives of  
public health 2012,70:8 doi  
3
2
.1 million child deaths. June 6,  
013.  
2
3
4
.
.
.
Drake L, Maier C, Jukes M, Pa-  
trikios A. School-Age Chil-  
1
0.1186/0778-7367-70-8  
1
1
1. Olaniyan DA, Obadara OE. A  
critical review of management of  
primary education in Nigeria. Int J  
Afr Am Studies 2008; 8(1):19  
2. Ajayi MO, Ejindu CF, Okojie CC,  
Udeaja F, Onweluzo F. Structure  
Plan for Onitsha and Satellite  
towns. United Nations Human  
Settlements Programme (UN-  
HABITAT), 2009 ;14-30.  
3. Araoye MO. Subjects Selection.  
In: Araoye MO( Ed). Research  
Methodology with statistics for  
Health and Social Sciences.Ilorin:  
Nathadex (Publishers). 2003; 116-  
dren:Their Nutrition and Health.  
In: Partnership for child develop-  
ment. School-Age Children, Their  
Nutrition and Health. 2002; 5  
Gunde R. School Children in the  
Developing World: Health, Nutri-  
tion and School Performance. In a  
vey.Health E-stats. 2009.  
20. De Onis M, Onyango AW, Borghi  
E, Siyam A, Nishida C, Siekmann  
J. Development of a  
21. WHO growth reference for school-  
aged children and adolescents. Bull  
WHO 2007; 9: 649-732.  
2
-day International Workshop  
under the Global Impact Research  
Initiative. The Regents of the Uni-  
versity of California 2009.  
UNICEF. The State of the World’s  
Children. New York: Oxford Uni-  
versity Press; 2012.  
De Onis M, Frongillo EA, Bloss-  
ner M. Is malnutrition declining?  
An analysis of changes in levels of  
child malnutrition since 1980.Bull  
WHO 2000; 78: 1222-1223.  
Environmental Health Project.  
Improving the health of the urban  
poor Learning from USAID ex-  
perience. Strategic Report 12.  
1
22. Cynthia O, Margaret C. Prevalence  
of obesity among children and  
adolescents: United States, Trends  
1963-1965 Through 2007-2008.  
Centers for Disease Control and  
Prevention. National Center for  
Health Statistics E-stat.  
23. Sharma AJ, Grummer-Strawn LM,  
Dalenius K, Galuska D, Anan-  
dappa M et al. Obesity Prevalence  
among low-income preschool-aged  
children- United States, 1998-  
2008. Centers for Disease Control  
and Prevention. Morbidity and  
Mortality Weekly Report 2009;  
769-73.  
5
6
.
.
2
9.  
1
1
4. Ajayi IO, Akinyinka OO. Evalua-  
tion of the nutritional status of first  
year school children in Ibadan,  
Southwest Nigeria. Afr. J. Med.Sci.  
7
8
9
.
.
.
1
999; 28: 59-63.  
5. National Population Commission  
NPC) [Nigeria] and ORC  
(
Macro .Nigerian Demographic and  
health survey EdData Survey  
2
004; 1-67.  
Akor F, Okolo S, Okolo A. Nutri-  
tional status of newly enrolled  
primary school children in Jos-  
Plateau, Nigeria. Pak J Nutr 2010.  
2
004.Calverton,Maryland:National  
Populaton Commission and ORC  
Macro.2005; 3-40.  
6. Amuta EU, Houmsou RS. Assess-  
ment of Nutritional Status of  
School Children in Makurdi, Be-  
nue State. Pak J Nutr 2009; 8: 691  
24. Owa JA, Adejuyigbe O. Fat mass,  
fat mass percentage, body mass  
index and mid-upper arm circum-  
ference in a healthy population of  
Nigerian children. J Trop Paediat  
1997; 43: 13-19.  
1
9
(12) :1166-70.  
Mushtaq MU, Gull S, Khurshid U,  
Shahid U. Prevalence and socio-  
demographic correlates of stunting  
and thinness among Pakistani  
primary school children. BMC  
public health 2011, 11: 790  
-694.  
1
7. Abidoya RO, Ihebuzor NN. As-  
sessment of nutritional status using  
anthropometric methods on 1-4  
year old children in an urban  
doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-790.  
ghetto in Lagos, Nig. Nutr Health  
2
001; 15: 29-39.  
1
80  
2
5. Senbanjo IO, Adejuyigbe O.  
Prevalence of overweight and  
obesity in Nigerian pre-school  
children. Nutr Health, 2007; 18:  
26. Al-Saffar AJ. Stunting among pri-  
mary-school children: a sample  
from Baghdad, Iraq. East Mediterr  
Health J. 2009; 15: No.2.  
27. Akinyinka OO, Sanni KA, Falade  
AG, Akindele MO, Sowumi A.  
Arm area measurements as indices  
of nutritional reserves and body  
water in African newborns. Afr. J.  
Med Med. Sci.1999; 28: 5-8.  
3
91-99.