Assessment of Nutritional Status in School Children of Hisar District

School going children form an important vulnerable segment of the nation's population. School age is a dynamic period of physical growth and development, when the child undergoes rapid mental, emotional and social changes. It is the period of utmost significance and presents a general health status of a community and nation as a whole. The study was conducted in Hisar district of Haryana state to assess the nutritional status of the rural school going children. Nutritional status of children was assessed in terms of dietary assessment, anthropometric measurement (height, weight and skin fold thickness) and clinical assessment of signs and symptoms of various nutrient deficiency diseases. intake of the nutrients viz. energy, protein, fat, beta-carotene, B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, iron and calcium was found lower than the Recommended Dietary Allowances, the lowest being iron and Vitamin B12. Regarding prevalence of malnutrition, it was found that 54.11 percent of the school children were stunted and 55.5% were underweight. It was also observed that malnourishment was more prevalent among girls but boys were also affected.