IMPACT OF EDUCATION OF PARENTS ON NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN

IMPACT OF EDUCATION OF PARENTS ON NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN

In a cross-sectional study the nutritional status of 2585 school children, including 1253 boys and 1332 girls, aged between 5 and 15 years was correlated with the levels of literacy of their parents. The study showed a direct relationship between the levels of literacy of parents and the nutritional status of children. When the same was tested separately for mothers and fathers in relation to the sex of the child, it was noted that nutritional status of boys and girls was not different irrespective of mother’s literacy level. However, in case of fathers it was noticed that with the Increase in the literacy level of fathers, the nutritional status of boys was better than that of girls.

KEY WORDS: Nutritional status, Parents education, School children

TABLE OF CONTENT

Title Page———i

Certification——–ii

Dedication———iii

Acknowledgement——-iv

Abstract ———vi

Table of Content——–vii

Chapter One

1.0 Introduction ——-1

1.1 Statement of Problem——4

1.2 Purpose of the Study——5

1.3 Significance of Study——8

1.4 Limitation——–9

1.5 Scope of Study——-11

Chapter Two

2.0 Review of Related Literature —-12

2.1 The Meaning of Drug Abuse—–13

2.2 The Problem of Drug Abuse—–13

2.3 Disadvantage of Drug Abuse—-14

2.4 Normal Ways of Drug use—–15

2.5 Common Ways of Drug Abuse—-17

2.6 Summary of Literature Review—- 19

Chapter Three

3.0 Research Methodology and Procedure—22

3.1 Population ——–22

3.2 Sample and Sampling Technique—-22

3.3 Validation of the Instrument —-23

3.4 Reliability of the Instrument —–23

3.5 Data Analysis——-23

Chapter Four

4.0 Presentation and Discussion of Result—24

4.1 Analysis and Interpretation of Data—25

4.2 Discussion of Results——38

Chapter Five

5.0 Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation –40

5.1 Summary——–40

5.2 Conclusion——–41

5.3 Recommendation——42

References ———45

Appendix 1——–47

Appendix ———50

Introduction
Among the various determinants of nutritional status, parent’s education is probably the next most important factor after the socio-economic status. A literate mother uses scarce resources in 2 better manner for the child’s welfare than an illiterate mother with higher resources does [1] . D’souza et al believe that the effect of women’s education on the nutritional status of their children is exerted through their roles as providers of household health and nutrition [2] . In a study carried out at Parbhani, Marathwada (Maharashtra), Arya et al have shown that the children of literate mothers have better anthropometric measurements than children of illiterate mothers [3] . Sive et al, while comparing 53 children hospitalized for kwashiorkor with 106 children hospitalized for non-nutritional diseases observed that the major difference between the two groups was the educational status of mother. Only 57% of the mothers of the children with kwashiorkor were literate as compared to 93% of the controls [4] .

While the relationship between the mother’s education and the child’s nutritional status is well documented, that between the education of father or the education of both the parents put together and the child’s nutritional status is not well established [5, 6] . Keeping this in mind a study was carried out in primary school children of Pune cantonment to find out :

(a)
The association between parent’s education and the nutritional status of children.

(b)
The association between mother’s education and the nutritional status of children.

(c)
The association between mother’s education and the nutritional status of girls as compared to boys.

(d)
The association between father’s education and the nutritional status of children.

(e)
The association between father’s education and the nutritional status of girls as compared to boys.

IMPACT OF EDUCATION OF PARENTS ON NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN