According to recent findings, obese and overweight overweight children are highly vulnerable to the problem of obesity in adulthood. The present cross-sectional study was undertaken among 297 girl students from private English medium primary schools, located in South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India, to evaluate the prevalence of overweight and obesity, as well as the role of various socio-economic factors. Most of the girls came from affluent socio-economic family backgrounds. Height and weight were measured following the standard method. Overnutrition was assessed using established cut-off values. Socio-economic factors such as father’s education, mother’s education and parents’ monthly income show a significant association with overweight and obesity. The prevalence of over nutrition in this group of participants, as measured by overweight and obesity, was found to be very high (28.95%), out of which the prevalence of overweight was 21.21% and obesity was 7.74%. In the context of the present study, it can be concluded that a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity was significantly associated with their socio-economic background, especially parents’ education and family income.

Child nutritional status is an essential component of a country’s overall human development. There is a growing consensus that poor nutritional status during childhood (or even in uterus) can have long-lasting scarring consequences into adulthood, both in terms of health and mortality, and in terms of other measures of human capital such as schooling and productivity (Behrman et al., 2006). Research indicates that nutritional deficiencies and poor health in primary school age children are among the causes of low school enrolment, high absenteeism, early dropout and poor classroom performance (WHO, 1997). Undernutrition continues to be a primary cause of ill-health and premature mortality among children in developing countries (Nandy et al.,2005). As in other developing nations, malnourishment is a burden on considerable percentage of population, the most vulnerable being the youngest of this country (Chatterjee and Saha, 2008). On the other hand, child obesity is increasing rapidly worldwide. Childhood obesity has more than tripled in last 40 years (Ogden et al., 2010). Obesity has become a Global health problem, affecting more than 1.3 billion adults in both developed and developing countries (WHO, 2005). It is believed that, 50 – 80% of obese children will continue to be obese as adults (Styne, 2001). In developing country like India, especially in urban population, childhood obesity is emerging as a major health problem (Shetty, 1999)

Increasing amounts of anthropogenic contaminants have heavily polluted the atmosphere. This is one of the global environmental problems. Deposition of atmospheric contaminants on the earth’s surface brings potential risks to human health. This review aims to identify risks posed by lead in the atmosphere and its impact on human health. Lead is one of the most dangerous toxic metals found in the earth’s crust. The lead-induced toxicity through oxidative stress mechanisms includes the effect of lead on membranes, DNA, and antioxidant defense systems of the cells. It affects various target sites including lungs, blood vessels, brain, testes, and liver. Acute exposure to high doses of lead is not the only source of lead-based neurotoxicity. Acute low-dose exposure also produces measurable effects on the nervous system. The most severe neurological effect of lead exposure is lead encephalopathy, a response to very high doses of lead that results in the development of irritability, headache, attention deficits, memory loss, mental dullness, and hallucinations. Lead exposure has effects on neuropsychological functioning that vary across the lifespan. Lead causes a number of adverse effects also on the reproductive system in both men and women, such as decreased libido, chromosomal damage, and impairment of spermatogenesis. Lead can cross the placenta and impairs the development of the fetus due to its interference with the calcium metabolism. Lead-exposed women are at risk of various complications during pregnancy, including spontaneous abortion. This article reviews the nature, cause, and importance of environmental exposure to lead and emphasizes requirements for future policy responses and interventions.

The incidence of hypertension (HTN) is on rise across the globe. It is the highest in low-income countries and the obesity/adiposity have a great impact on that. The aim of the present study was to find out the association between some measures of adiposity with blood pressure (BP) levels and to identify the gold standard in determining HTN. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 159 adolescent school going children from a suburban area near Lucknow, India. T-test, correlation coefficient and the Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve analyses were utilized to measure the potential predictors of HTN. Significant sexual dimorphisms were noticed in case of waist circumference (WC), systolic BP (SBP) and mean arterial BP (MAP). The differences of hip circumference (HC) and body mass index (BMI) among the normotensive and hypertensive participants were statistically ( p < .05) significant. Considering the association of SBP, diastolic BP (DBP), MAP and pulse pressure (PP) with adiposity, indices were statistically ( p < .01) significant. In sex-combined situation, BMI (AUC = 0.632) had best predictive quality, followed by HC (AUC = 0.606), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR; AUC = 0.598) and WC (AUC = 0.594). This study strongly suggests that abdominal adiposity may be considered as one of the important risk factors of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). And finally, ROC analysis tells us that in sex-combined situation, BMI had highest significant predictive ability for the detection of HTN.

Malnutrition during childhood is still prevalent in parts of the world, with over three-quarters of the world’s malnourished children living in Southern Asia including India. Childhood malnutrition is a serious concern because it can affect the growth potential and the risk of morbidity and mortality in later life. Head circumference (HC) is one measure for evaluating the nutritional status of children during the first years of life when brain and skull are still growing. The present study assesses the nutritional status of Rajbanshi children in North Bengal by using WHO (2007) recommended cutoff points for head circumference. Age-combined mean HC was slightly higher among boys (46.8 cm) than girls (45.7 cm). We found the expected gradual increase of mean values with rising age of the children. The overall prevalence of age- and sex-combined malnutrition according to WHO cutoffs was 20.5%, 18.8% among boys and 22.2% among girls. The difference between boys and girls was not statistically significant. Regular monitoring of the physical status of children who are at risk of malnutrition is recommended.

Objectives. Although tribals constitute around 8.6% of the total population of India, detailed information on their body composition is scanty. Thus, our objective was to evaluate age variations and sexual dimorphism in adiposity and body composition among rural tribal adolescents of Kharagpur, West Bengal, India. Material and methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 788 tribal adolescent boys and girls, aged 10-17 years of Kharagpur, West Midnapore, West Bengal, India. Height (kg), weight (cm) and skinfolds were measured following standard method. The Body Mass Index (BMI) was derived. Body composition measures including Percent Body Fat (PBF), Fat Mass (FM), Fat Free Mass (FFM), Fat Mass Index (FMI) and Fat Free mass Index (FFMI) were computed using standard equations. Results. All the variables showed a significant age trend in both sexes. Age-combined significant sex differences existed in mean BMI and all body composition measures. Girls had significantly higher mean values of fat measures (PBF, FM and FMI) whereas boys had significantly higher mean values of non-fat measures (FFM and FFMI). In both sexes, age had significant correlations with BMI and the five body composition measures. Similarly, all body composition indicators were significantly correlated with BMI in both sexes. Conclusions. There were significant age and sex variations in body composition measures. Girls had significantly more fat mass whereas boys had more lean body mass. All body composition measures increased significantly with increasing age as well as BMI. Attainment of puberty could be a mediating factor causing these age variations and sexual dimorphism. Keywords: India, tribal adolescents, age variations, sexual dimorphism, body composition.

At earlier ages, the body mass index (BMI) has some limitations in assessing nutritional status owing to the differential increase of the body segments. The present study assessed the nutritional status by using a new measure, the sitting height index of build (SHIB). A total of 1012 children (498 boys; 514 girls) aged between 2 to 6 years from 20 Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) centers of Bali Gram Panchayat, Arambagh, West Bengal, India were studied. Height, weight, and sitting height (SH) were measured following standard protocol. The SHIB was calculated as [weight (kg) / Sitting Height (m)(3)]. The prevalence of undernutrition was assessed by converting the thinness cut-offs to SHIB cut-offs. All the anthropometric variables showed the gradual increase with age except the subjects BMI. The SHIB showed significant sex differences in the lower age groups. The prevalence of undernutrition as evaluated using SHIB was slightly lower (82.7%) than that utilizing thinness (low BMI for age) (85.2%). The sex-specific rates of undernutrition were 81.7 % and 83.7 % among boys and girls, respectively. The SHIB can be considered an alternative, dependable, and useful index to evaluate undernutrition among pre-school children. This index may have a distinct advantage in determining nutritional status across ethnic groups who vary in body size and shape, regardless of BMI.

The Journal is the primary organ of Continuing Paediatric Medical Education in Sri Lanka. The journal also has a website. Free full text access is available for all readers.The Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health is now indexed in SciVerse Scopus (Source Record ID 19900193609), Index Medicus for South-East Asia Region (IMSEAR), CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International Global Health Database), DOAJ and is available in Google, as well as Google Scholar.The policies of the journal are modelled on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Guidelines on Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing. Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health is recognised by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) as a publication following the ICMJE Recommendations.

Adolescent is a transitional phase between childhood and adulthood characterized by marked acceleration in growth.Undernutrition is one of the major problems especially among the tribal adolescent boys and it has been least studied.Hence, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the association of socio-economic and demographic aspects with BMI and prevalence of thinness (low BMI for age) among the tribal adolescent boys.This cross-sectional study was conducted among 370 tribal adolescent boys, aged 10-17 years from Kharagpur Community Development Block II, West Midnapore, and West Bengal, India.Assessment of nutritional status as measured by thinness (Low BMI for age) was done following age and sex specific internationally accepted standard cut offs as proposed by Cole and others (2007).Linear regression was applied to evaluate the dependence of BMI on various socio-economic factors of the participants.The overall prevalence of thinness was 51.6%.When age specific prevalence are taken into account, the highest (63.6%) prevalence was found among the participants of the age group of 10 years, followed by age group 11 (61.9%) and lowest in case of 16 years (40.0%).1.6% boys were overweight or obese.Fathers' education, fathers' and mothers' occupation as well as family type were significant (p < 0.05) factors which influenced their BMI.These tribal adolescent boys were experiencing severe nutritional stress as evidenced by a very high prevalence of thinness.Appropriate and effective nutritional interventions are needed to ameliorate their nutritional status.

Anemia is a nutritional problem worldwide and its prevalence is higher in developing countries when it compared to the developed countries. The prevalence of anemia in the developing countries tends to be three or four times higher than in the developed countries. Nutritional anemia affects all age and sex group in India. Adolescents or early childhood is one of the most vulnerable periods to anemia in human life when nutritional requirements are high due to growth spurt. With this back ground, the objective of the present study was to assess the correlation of low BMI with the hemoglobin level among the adolescent Sunni Muslims of Lucknow city, Uttar Pradesh, India. This cross-sectional study was conducted among the 159 school going Sunni Muslims adolescents aged between 12 to 18 years. There was no significant sex differences on BMI. Whereas, in case of hemoglobin levels the differences based on sex was statistically significant (t=2.786; p < 0.05). There was a strong positive correlation between BMI and Hb in overall studied population (r=0.236; p<0.005). Considering the various categories of BMI, there were statistically significant correlation between severely thinness and thin individuals with hemoglobin levels but not in case of overweight and normal adolescent participants. DOI: 10.29011/2577-0241.100004

Background: Primary school age is a dynamic period of physical growth and mental development of the child. Research indicates that nutritional deficiencies and poor health in primary school age children are among the causes of low school enrolment, high absenteeism, early dropout and poor classroom performance. Chronic undernutrition is linked to slower cognitive development and serious health impairments later in life that reduce the quality of life. The thinness (low BMI for age) may be one of the tool to measure the level of undernutrition. Objective: The objective of the present study was to assess the different grades of thinness by using age and sex specific cut off values based on body mass index (BMI). Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted at Bali-Gram Panchayat, Arambagh, West Bengal, India. The data were collected from 618 rural Bengalee primary school children comprising of both boys (304) and girls (314) within the age group 5-11 years. The measurements (height in cm. and weight in kg) were taken following standard methods Thinness was evaluated using the age and sex specific cut-off points of BMI. Results: The overall (age combined) prevalence of thinness among the boys was slightly higher (83.2%) in comparison to the prevalence of thinness among the girls (81.5%). The prevalence of thinness was higher in case of lower age group children among both boys and girls and it gradually decreases with the increase of age. The rate of grade III thinness (30.5%) was greater among the girls than others while among the boys it was higher in grade I (32.9%) category. It indicates the severity of thinness was much more among the girls than the boys. Although there was no significant sex difference between the two sexes. Conclusion: The prevalence of undernutrition as measured by thinness was significantly higher than the national level scenario. In spite of the Mid Day Meal scheme which is running for more than 20 years, the result is dissatisfactory. The competent authority should look into the matter seriously for better nutritional and health condition of the children.

Knowledge of the body composition in terms of fat and fat-free mass is used in pediatrics to estimate a child’s nutritional status and the prevalence of obesity in children and youth. The present cross-sectional study focused to evaluate the relationship of age, sex and Body Mass Index (BMI) with body fat composition measures among preschool children of Bali Gram Panchayat, Arambagh, Hooghly District in West Bengal, India. A total of 1,012 children (boys = 498. girls = 514) aged 2-6 years were measured. Significant age and sex variations were found in BMI and the body composition measures. Sex specific correlation of age with six body composition variables (except BMI) showed highly significant (p < 0.01) positive correlations except only in one, that is, PBF among boys, which showed a negative correlation. Sex specific correlation of BMI with other five body composition variables showed significant positive correlations (p< 0.01) between both the sexes. Authors have a weaker correlation among boys (r = 0.12) compared to much stronger correlation among girls (r=0.72) in case of PBF.

Food insecurity and poor nutrition remain a problem in many developing countries, including India. Studies show that half of the malnourished children of the world are from Indian subcontinent. A number of socioeconomic factors may affect the prevalence of undernutrition. The present investigation was undertaken to estimate the level of undernutrition among children aged 5-10 years and to find out its association with family income and parental education. This cross-sectional study was undertaken on a group of school children studying in seven primary schools of Birati and Nimta, of the district of North-24 Parganas, West Bengal, India. A total number of 302 children (boys = 145; girls = 157), aged 5-10 year were studied. Anthropometric measurements were taken on the children using standard instruments and protocols. Socioeconomic information was collected from the household of children using standard questionnaire. The overall rates of stunting, underweight and wasting among the study participants were 26.5%, 38.7% and 23.5%, respectively. The rates of stunting and underweight were higher among boys compared to the girls. But the trend gets reversed in case of wasting. Parental education and household income were found to be significantly associated with nutritional status.

Background : Undernutrition appears to be a plaguing factor for physical and cognitive development of a large proportion of Indian children living in impoverished conditions. The city of Kolkata, located in the eastern part of India has demonstrated a conspicuous rise in its slum growth profile in the past few decades. Hitherto, studies on physical growth and nutritional status of slum children are lacking. Objectives : To Investigate the nutritional status (stunting, wasting, and underweight) among 2- 8 year old children and to observe the association of socio-economic factors with undernutrition of the studied children. Materials and Methods : This cross sectional study was conducted on 185 children aged 2 to 8 years residing at slums of Tangra, Behala, and Dum Dum regions of Kolkata. Anthropometric measurements (height and weight) were take following standard protocol (Lohman et al ., 1988), Socio-economic information were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Stunting, Underweight and Wasting were derived to evaluate the nutritional status of the studied population. Pearson correlation (r) coefficient test was undertaken to measure the association of some socio-economic variables on undernutrition. Results : The prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting were 38.91% (boys 32.14% and girls 45.45%), 50.27% (boys 51.16%, girls 49.49%), 31.35% (boys 30.23%, girls 32.32%) respectively. The present study showed the positive correlation (r) between educational levels of the parents and stunting, underweight and wasting independently. But household size has a negative correlation with all the three measures of nutritional status. Conclusion : We conclude that the slum children were facing a nutritional health risk and parental education and household size appeared to be the primary reasons.

Purpose – Developing countries like India, accounts for about 40 percent of undernourished children in the World and it is largely due to the result of dietary inadequacy in relation to their needs. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the changes in the nutritional status of the children, from their preschool days to the present primary school days. Design/methodology/approach – The present investigation was conducted at 20 Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) centers (Center-A) and 15 primary schools (Center-B) in Bali Gram Panchayat, Arambag, Hooghly District of West Bengal, India, at an interval of three to four years. A total of 1,012 children (boys=498; girls=514) aged two to six years old enrolled in these ICDS centers and a total of 603 children (boys=300, girls=303), aged five to ten years were studied from the 15 primary schools who were the beneficiaries of ICDS centers. Underweight (weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ)) and wasting (weight-for height Z-score (WHZ)) were used to assess the nutritional status. Findings – The nutritional situation (both in case of underweight and wasting) was better in Center B as compared with Center A. In general, the nutritional condition of boys was better than girls. Center had a very significant effect on both WAZ as well as WHZ, irrespective of age and sex. Sex has a significant impact only on WAZ. Interestingly, there was no significant sex-center interaction for both WAZ as well as WHZ. The children of the area were getting Mid Day Meal supplied through the school authorities which was comparatively better than the ICDS centers’ food supplementation. Better monitoring of nutritional supplementation at primary schools may be an important factor. Practical implications – In ICDS centers, only the Anganwari worker is responsible in running and implementing the programs offered by the Government. However, at primary schools, the active involvement of all the teachers to run the program may have effectively led to have better results. Furthermore, the Government's focus should not be only on the increase the area covered by the ICDS program, but focus should be to increase the quality of food supplied, proper monitoring of the implementation and increase the allocation of funds. Appropriate measures may be taken by the authorities regarding this. Originality/value – The results of the study will help in policy making in reducing the prevalence of undernutrition.

Malnutrition is a leading cause of child mortality in India. To counteract this problem, a nutrition supplementation programme has been operating under the Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) scheme in India since 1975. Recently, the Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) has been implemented to measure the seriousness and severity of overall under-nutrition in a population. Since this index presents a more complete picture than the previous three conventional measures. CIAF is utililized in this study which focuses on the overall burden of under-nutrition determination in pre-school children in Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India. Our study was conducted in 10 Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) centres, commonly known as “Anganwadi”, in the villages of the Argoal Gram Panchayat at Patashpur – II block. The total sample of 225 Bengalee ethnic children aged between 3 and 6 years was composed of 115 girls and 110 boys. The overall age and gender-combined prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting recorded was 30.7%, 42.7% and 12.0%, respectively, and these rates were considered high (30–39%), very high (≥ 40%) and high (10–14%), respectively. CIAF results revealed the same trend, with 50.2% of these children affected by anthropometric failure, with the prevalence of underweight, wasting and CIAF higher in boys than in girls. This 50.2% CIAF result highlighted that approximately half the study children were undernourished. Since this figure is much higher than that estimated by any of the three conventional indicators,, CIAF has thus proven a far better indicator in assessing the overall burden of under-nutrition in a population. The nutritional status of the children in this study requires serious remedial action.

Background: A widely accepted assumption is that childhood experiences set the stage for lifetime experiences.Nutrition is one of the most important factors, which influences human growth. The monitoring of children’s nutritional status is a fundamental tool for the evaluation of their health conditions and a unique opportunity for obtaining objective measures for the health assessment of a population. One of the major health problems in many developing countries including India is widespread prevalence of under nutrition among pre-school children. In India, approximately 60 million children are underweight (ACC/SCN, 2004).The Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) program, which now covers almost all development blocks in India, is potentially well-poised to address some of the underlying causes of present undernutrition.

Background: the prevalence of child obesity is increasing rapidly worldwide. In developing countries such as India, especially in urban populations, childhood obesity is emerging as a major health problem. In view of these contexts, the present study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in an urban population of girl adolescent students attending the English Medium School in Kolkata, India.Methods: a total of 571 girl students, aged 12-18 years, were evaluated. Cole et al. (2000) recommended cut-off points were utilized to assess overweight and obesity.Results: the overall prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were 28.5% and 4.2% respectively. The rate of overweight was the highest when compared with that of different parts of India, including Kolkata, and also when compared to rates from the USA and Great Britain.Conclusions: in the context of the present study, it can be presumed that, the higher prevalence of overweight in these school children may be due to their eating habits, as well as to their lack of awareness on proper eating habits. In addition, low involvement in physical activities may also have influenced the rate of overweight and obesity. Thus, it can be concluded that the study definitely highlighted the existence of an obesity threat, which is likely to persist among Bengalee school children of wealthier families.