Prevalence and Associated Factors of Malnutrition Among Primary School Students in the Rakai District of Uganda

Anthropometric measurements are used to identify three key markers of malnutrition in children. These measures can be compared to the World Health Organization (WHO) growth reference standards for children 5‐19 years old. The purpose of this study was to use anthropometry to determine prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting in students at a boarding school in rural Southern Uganda. This was a cross‐sectional descriptive study of the nutrition status of 320 students. Prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting were determined by calculating height‐for‐age (HAZ), weight‐for‐age (WAZ), and BMI‐for‐age Z‐scores, respectively. These factors of malnutrition were then tested for associations with age, gender and residency status of the students. The prevalence of stunting was 26.6%; underweight was 12.8% and wasting was 3.8%. Overall, the average HAZ and WAZ scores for the total population were ‐1.26 (1.15) and ‐1.37 (1.01), respectively, indicating mild malnutrition across the population. Results of the chi‐square tests revealed prevalence of stunting was dependent on age group and a greater number of children in the younger age group were stunted compared to the older age group. No other significant associations were found between malnutrition factors and gender or residency status. Malnutrition is prevalent among the school children in the Rakai District of Uganda, with stunting affecting a higher percentage of the children than underweight or wasting. Additionally, age significantly influenced stunting prevalence in the study population.