Nutritional Status among Primary Governmental School Student s, Cairo Governorate

Background: Nutritional status of the school age is a vital component to student s health in Egypt; nutritional disorders affect more than 30% of school children. The aim of this study was to assess nutritional status among Primary Governmental School students, Cairo Governorate.Design: A cross sectional research design was utilized in this study.Setting: The study was conducted at Primary Governmental Schools in Cairo Governorate, three Educational Departments were assigned randomly from total thirty two departments and three schools were selected randomly from each directorate.The Study Sample: Consisted of 200 students from 5th and 6th grade from the three selected schools.Tools for Data Collection: Used to collect pertinent data, structured interviewing questionnaire and the primary school student s nutritional assessment.Results: Indicated that, 4.5% of the students were underweight, 15% of the students were overweight and 22% were obese. A highly statistically significant positive correlation was found between student s age and their body mass index, a statistically significant positive correlation was found between student s nutritional habits and their body mass index.The study concluded that, there is a slightly high prevalence of nutritional disorders among school age students, resulting from faulty food habits and low awareness about proper nutrition.Recommendation: The current study recommended a health education program for student s about the importance of proper nutrition for school age students.