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Title

Nutritional status of children living in an orphanage in Dhaka city, Bangladesh

Author

ABM Alauddin Chowdhury, Faisal Muhammad, Md. Imdadul Haque, Syed Wasiullah,

Email

dralauddin@daffodilvarsity.edu.bd

Abstract

This study assessed the socio-economic background and nutritional status of children 

living in an orphanage in Dhaka city, Bangladesh.  Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the children in Sir Salimullah Muslim Orphanage, Dhaka from January to November 2014. Systematic sampling was adopted to collect data from 232 children using a semi-structured questionnaire.  Anthropometric measurements of the children were taken and the WHO reference growth chart was used to determine the children’s nutritional status. Weight-for-age was categorised by mild, moderate and severe malnutrition. The Pearson Chi-square test was performed to determine the association between the extent of malnutrition and socio-demographic characteristics of the children. Results: The majority of the children (60.3%) in the orphanage were malnourished, with mild, moderate and severe malnourished being 43.1%, 16.8% and 0.4%, respectively. Malnutrition was higher among the boys than girls in the age group of 15-18 years. The orphans suffered significantly (P<0.05) from malnutrition compared to those, who had at least one parent alive. 

Conclusion:

Malnutrition is highly prevalent among children and adolescents under residential care and 

needs to be addressed. In particular, early identification and intervention can improve the

quality of nutritional status of the urban orphanage population. An investigation with a large sample is highly desirable to explore the severity of the problem in the national context.This study assessed the socio-economic background and nutritional status of children

living in an orphanage in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Methods: A cross-sectional study was

conducted among the children in Sir Salimullah Muslim Orphanage, Dhaka from January to

November 2014. Systematic sampling was adopted to collect data from 232 children using a

semi-structured questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements of the children were taken

and the WHO reference growth chart was used to determine the children’s nutritional

status. Weight-for-age was categorised by mild, moderate and severe malnutrition. The

Pearson Chi-square test was performed to determine the association between the extent of

malnutrition and socio-demographic characteristics of the children. Results: The majority of

the children (60.3%) in the orphanage were malnourished, with mild, moderate and severe

malnourished being 43.1%, 16.8% and 0.4%, respectively. Malnutrition was higher among

the boys than girls in the age group of 15-18 years. The orphans suffered signicantly (P<0.05)

from malnutrition compared to those, who had at least one parent alive. Conclusion:

Malnutrition is highly prevalent among children and adolescents under residential care and

needs to be addressed. In particular, early identication and intervention can improve the

quality of nutritional status of the urban orphanage population. An investigation with a large

sample is highly desirable to explore the severity of the problem in the national context. Children living in orphanages tend to be neglected and may be malnourished.

This study assessed the socio-economic background and nutritional status of children

living in an orphanage in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Methods: A cross-sectional study was

conducted among the children in Sir Salimullah Muslim Orphanage, Dhaka from January to

November 2014. Systematic sampling was adopted to collect data from 232 children using a

semi-structured questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements of the children were taken

and the WHO reference growth chart was used to determine the children’s nutritional

status. Weight-for-age was categorised by mild, moderate and severe malnutrition. The

Pearson Chi-square test was performed to determine the association between the extent of

malnutrition and socio-demographic characteristics of the children. Results: The majority of

the children (60.3%) in the orphanage were malnourished, with mild, moderate and severe

malnourished being 43.1%, 16.8% and 0.4%, respectively. Malnutrition was higher among

the boys than girls in the age group of 15-18 years. The orphans suffered signicantly (P<0.05)

from malnutrition compared to those, who had at least one parent alive. Conclusion:

Malnutrition is highly prevalent among children and adolescents under residential care and

needs to be addressed. In particular, early identication and intervention can improve the

quality of nutritional status of the urban orphanage population. An investigation with a large

sample is highly desirable to explore the severity of the problem in the national context.

Keywords

Children, Dhaka City, malnutrition, orphanage, poverty, urban

Journal or Conference Name

Malaysian Journal of Nutrition

Publication Year

2017

Indexing

scopus