NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED STUDENTS OF INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED SCHOOL IN DHARAN SUB-METROPOLITAN CITY

Abstract

A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out to assess nutritional status of intellectually disabled students at Intellectually Disabled School in Dharan. The study was carried out in 40 students. A structured questionnaire was administered to the mothers and care-takers for demographic, socio-economic, behavioral characteristics and dietary intake information. Anthropometric measurements were used to determine, BMI, BMI z-scores and height for age. The Z-score data was analysed using WHO Anthroplus v1.0.4, SPSS 20 and Microsoft Excel. T-test, Chi-square test and fisher’s exact test were used for necessary analysis. The study revealed that, the prevalence of stunting was found to be 17.5%. Stunting was more prevalent in the age group 13 to 15 years particularly among females with 10% compare to males of 7.5%. The prevalence of thinness was found to be 5% out of which 2.5% were moderately thin and 2.5% were severely thin. Thinness was most prevalent in the age group 13-15 years and 16-19years affecting both male and female equally with 2.5%. The prevalence of underweight was found to be 17.5% affecting more females 12.5% than male 5%. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was found to be 27.5% where females were more prevalent with 20% than males with 7.5%. The study also revealed inadequate calorie and calcium intake but sufficient consumption of protein and fats among the students. Factors such as the consumption of green leafy vegetables (GLV), eggs, and other vegetables were associated with stunted growth in adolescents with intellectual disabilities (ID), while significant correlations were found between nutritional status and various factors including parental education levels, father's occupation, mother's occupation, family income, refusal to eat, excessive appetite, poor appetite, tendency to spit out food, pickiness with food, and consumption of fast food, all of which were linked to underweight, overweight, and obesity among students with Intellectual Disability.Thus, malnutrition should be viewed as a serious issue and awareness should be generated.