A Critical Analysis of Location as a Correlate of Body Mass Index of Children Aged 1-5 Years in Akwa Ibom State

Abstract

The study critically analyzed location as a correlate of body mass index of children aged 1-5 years in Akwa Ibom State. Infants and children under 5 years old were used. Apparently, assessment of growth is the single most important measurement of nutritional status. The presence of under nutrition in children is assessed using weight for age, height for age, weight for height and body mass index. Weight for age can be used to diagnose underweight children in the form of wasting, underweight or stunting. Height for age shows linear growth and can be used to measure long-term growth faltering or stunting. Weight for height shows proper body proportion and harmony of growth. The target population of this study comprised schoolchildren registered in government-approved nursery and primary schools aged 1-2 years and 3-5 years in Akwa Ibom State. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to draw 1440 pupils from urban and rural nursery and primary schools in Akwa Ibom State Senatorial districts. The instrument used for data collection was a standardized instrument for anthropometric assessment. Face and content validation of the instrument was carried out by an expert in testing, measurement, and evaluation in order to ensure that the instrument has the accuracy, appropriateness, and completeness for the study under consideration. The reliability coefficient obtained was 0.83, and this was high enough to justify the use of the instrument. The researcher subjected the data generated for this study to appropriate statistical techniques. The test for significance was done at 0.05 alpha levels. It was concluded that very few pupils (3.6%) out of the population of the children aged 1-2 years in Akwa Ibom State has Body Mass Index in line with WHO recommended standard, while (96.4%) of them have their body mass index below standards. It was also concluded that very few pupils (12.5%) out of the population of the children aged 3-5 years in Akwa Ibom State had Body Mass Index in line with WHO recommended standard, while (87.5%) of them had their body mass index below standards. One of the recommendations made was that since the goal of every health practitioner is to maintain a high level of nutritional health status for the population, the hospitality industry should always go for regular checkup using anthropometric indicators such as weight for height (W/H), weight for age (W/A) and height for age (H/A) to characterize the nutritional status of populations.