Assessment of Nutritional Status by Head Circumference Among Rural Preschool Children of Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India.

Introduction: The assessment of growth is essential during preschool age, more particularly in pediatric neurological examination, where measurement of the head circumference plays a vital role. Head circumference (HC) is a simple and non-invasive anthropometric measure. Also known as the frontal occipital circumference, HC has been cautiously used to assess the frequencies of undernutrition among preschool children. Material & Methods: The current study was done on 782 preschool children (boys= 384, girls = 398) aged 24-60 months ICDS beneficiaries of Jalpaiguri by using WHO (2007) recommended cut-off points for head circumference for age. Statistical analyses were also done to determine age and sex variations in Head Circumference. Results: Age combined rates of Head Circumference based moderate undernutrition for boys was 21.87 % and for girls was 25.37 %. Age-combined severe undernutrition among boys and girls were 5.72% and 6.53 %, respectively. The higher percentage of malnourished girls was seen in the previous study done on Midnapore and Bangalkot and a higher percentage of malnourished boys was seen than the Midnapore children. The present study reveals Girls were more affected by moderate and severe undernutrition compared to boys. Conclusion: Head Circumference is an indicator of brain development so initiative should be taken for regular monitoring of ICDS beneficiaries to improve the nutritional condition of preschool children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]