To Compare the Growth of School Going Children with Rag Picking Children: Cross Sectional Study, UP, India

Abstract

One of the greatest problems for India is undernutrition among children. The current study attempted to compare the growth of school going children with rag picking children as both groups of children were exposed to a very different childhood environment which may assumed to be influential in their growth. A descriptive survey design was adopted. A purposive sampling method was used to recruit 120 children of which 60 children were rag pickers and 60 were school going children. The tools included the IAP height and weight Standards and Water low Classification used to classify the nutrition status of the study participants. In school going children around 52 children were normal, 07 children were under grade I PEM, 01 was under grade II PEM whereas in Rag picking children around 29 children were in grade I PEM, 14 children were under grade II PEM, 09 children were under grade III PEM and 08 children belonged to grade IV PEM.