Nutritional Status of Under Five Years Children in Rangpur Cantonment

Nutrition is an important factor because of its role in preventing disease and infant survival and growth. Malnutrition and diseases are interlinked with each other and a great problem in all countries of the developing world. Objectives: To assess the nutritional status of the under five year's children in Rangpur Cantonment. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was done in Children Welfare Centre (CWC) of Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Rangpur from July to August 2018. A total of 50 under five years children were selected and a structured questionnaire was used keeping the focus on socioeconomic status, dietary habits, hygiene practices, and anthropometric indices of the children. Results: Out of 50 children, 60% were male and 40% were female. About 26% of children were in the 36 to 48 months of age group. About 50% were in the height group of >100 cm, 34.0% were in the height group of 91-100 cm, 16% were in the height group up to 90 cm, 48.0% were in the weight group of 12.1-16 kg, 34.0% were in the weight group of 16 kg, 10%were in the weight group of 10.1-12 kg and 8%were in the weight group below 10 kg. Conclusion: In this study, 20% of cases were stunted and 80% of cases were not stunted and no wasted case was found and the overall prevalence of malnutrition in the Rangpur cantonment was low. A further in-depth study is recommended to draw conclusive inferences. JAFMC Bangladesh. Vol 15, No 2 (December) 2019: 168-170