Nutritional Status of Preschool Children

Abstract

Height, weight, four body circumferences and three skin-fold thicknesses were measured on 40 preschool children from two socioeconomic groups. All of the mean physical measurements except skin folds were higher for group H (higher socioeconomic level) than for group L (lower socioeconomic level). The differences in height, waist circumferences, and the average of all circumferences measured were statistically significant. Correlations were made between certain physical measurements of body size and between these measurements and diet quality. The correlation coefficients between different physical measurements were higher for group H than group L. Several of the measurements were significantly correlated with indices of dietary adequacy in group H, but no significant relationships were found between physical measurements and dietary score in group L.