A Cross-Sectional Study on Nutritional and Morbidity Status of Children Attending Anganwadi Centers in Andhra Pradesh, India

Background The health status of children is considered a very important and vital factor for building the future of a growing nation. So providing proper nutrition to the child is very important to enhance the growth of the child. Objectives The present study is intended to assess the nutritional status and morbidity pattern of children attending Anganwadi centers. Materials and methods This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in children in the age group of 3-6 years attending the Anganwadi centers. By using the simple random sampling technique 13 Anganwadi centers were selected and a sample of 381 children was selected as the study population. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 17 (Chicago: SPSS Inc). Ethical clearance was obtained from the institutional ethical committee (ECR/460/Inst/AP/2013/RR_19). Results The overall prevalence of underweight, stunting, and wasting was 172 (45.2%), 243 (63.8%), and 79 (20.7%), respectively, according to the WHO-recommended classification. It was observed that a high prevalence of morbidity was of anemia, 125 (32.08%), followed by upper respiratory tract infection, 78 (20.48%). Conclusion The present study shows that there are still many children who are malnourished and suffering from anemia in our country, even after 46 years of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). As malnutrition is a complex and multi-dimensional issue, comprehensive studies regarding causative, aggravating, and associated factors leading to malnutrition are required to be studied, to know the problem in-depth, and formulate better health policies.