Impact of Mid Day Meal on the Nutritional Status of Rural Middle School Children (Age 9-15 Years) of Auraiya District, Uttar Pradesh

Pages: 54-58
Pragya Upadhyaya and Gita Bisla (Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Banasthali University, Vanasthali, Rajasthan)

School children constitute about one fourth o f the total population in India. Mid day meal programme provide food tree o f cost to over 12 crore school children on all working days. In India, mid day meal has a positive influence on the various objectives o f the scheme such as enrolment, attendance, social equity but the contribution o f the mid day meals to the nutritional status is still not clear. Present study is an attempt to study the nutrients supplied through mid day meal and its impact on nutritional status o f middle school children (9-15 years). This study is done on 1000 middle school children including 522 boys and 478 girls, selected randomly from Ajitmal block ofAuraiya district. The result o f anthropometric data revealed that very few children were having normal their height and weight while most o f the children were found to stunted and underweight in comparison o f Z scores o f WHO standards (2006). The data o f dietary intake through mid day meal showed that the nutrient intake o f children was lower when compared with RD A o f ICMR(2010). Mid day m eal was found to provide recommended amount o f calories (700 kcal) and protein (20 gms) but calcium, iron and vitaminAwas low in mid day meal food.