Causes and Effect of Poor Nutrition on Children Under the Age of 15 Years: a Case Study of Egor Local Government Area of Edo State
CHAPTER ONE
PURPOSE OF STUDY
The purpose of this study is:
- To work critically in to the causative factor that may be responsible for poor nutrition affecting Egor LGA.
- To gain an insight into the control of the problem affecting the children.
- To find out the effect of poor nutrition.
- To find out the caused of low production of food affecting poor nutrition.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
THE CONCEPT OF POOR NUTRITION
Jelife (2003) state that poor nutrition is situation by which the body is under-nourished he also went further to say that poor nutrition is triggered by a combination of these factors; an insufficient intake of protein, calories, vitamins, and minerals/frequent infection and such illness are diarrhea, malaria and respiratory disease makes the body heavily and cause lost of nutrient they reduce appetite and food intake this contribute to poor nutrition. The undernourished children are more susceptible to infection this forms a various circle that increase the morality rate for protein energy poor nutrition.
Birth (2003) stated that, the world agencies have made numerous effort to stop poor nutrition achievement have fallen short of the united nation food and agricultural organization of united nation (FAO) set the goal of reducing the number of the world undernourished by 200 million people by the year 2013 commendably some progress has been made but unfortunately the (FAO) recent on the state of food on security, acknowledge clearly that has been a slow down I the reduction of undernourished in the world. It should be pointed out that children are always at a greater risk of suffering for poor nutrition this is true because that of rapid of growth that increase the demand for calories and protein, also for similar reason.
Pregnant and nursing women are vulnerable to poor nutrition frequently, the baby problems begging even before and during pregnancy that is tendency for the body to have a low birth weight, this means that poor feeding habits and lack of hygiene can bring about poor nutrition that may latter affects the child academic performance.
Rickets (2005) stated that, the develop countries are not free from poor nutrition this is because the food undernourished people live in, what they called transitional countries especially ones in eastern Europe and republic of the former soviet union it should be worthy of not that the largest number of undernourished people are found in Africal,Asia mainly in the southern and central zones, the population with the undernourished people is in Africa lack of necessary nutrient cause the child to growing and developing property the child cries a lot and it prone to sickness as the condition worsens weight loss becomes more pronounced eyes and fontanel (the soft spol on the top of the head) becomes sunken skin and tissue loss elasticity and the ability to maintain body temperature decrease.
Undernourishment of poor nutrition can take other form this two can retard growth in children for instance, inadequate intake of minerals mainly iron, iodine and zinc and of vitamin particular vitamin A, can have such an affect. The united nation children fund notice that a deficiency of vitamin A affect about 100million children of 3-7 years of age in the world and causes blindness, it also weakness the immune system reducing the child resistance to infections (Gordon in birth 2003)
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This research is designed to find out the effect of poor nutrition on the academic performance of some selected primary school in Egor LGA of Edo State.
AREA OF STUDY
This study covered some selected primary schools in Egor LGA, such primary school include Evbotubu, Useh, Oluwa, Okhor and Egor Primary School in Edo State.
POPULATION
The population of this study comprises pupils in the selected schools of study in Egor LGA of Edo State.
SAMPLING TECHNIQUES
The researcher adopted the random sampling in selecting schools for the study. 5 schools were selected; they were selected based on the low level of pupil’s performance in school and their states of health within the local government area. Simple random techniques was also used in the selection of pu0pils, for the study twenty pupils from each school. A total of one hundred questionnaires were administered to the children.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF RESULT
This chapter is concerned with the data analysis collected from (5) five primary school in Egor local government Area. The researcher question in chapter one was used for the analysis.
RESEARCHER QUESTION ONE
Government insensitivity in assisting poor parents in feeing and educating of growing children play no important role in development of the country.
Questions one to five of the questionnaire were used to analyzing this research question above. Data was collected and analyzed.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
SUMMARY
This research is designed to find out the effect of poor nutrition on the academic performance of pupils in some selected primary schools in Egor LGA of Edo State. In carrying the research questionnaires were administered to pupils in the various primary schools visited the research work was carried out in six months within the period of April to September 2009. the questionnaires was collected and analyzed based on nearness or proximity that the effect of poor nutrition on the academic performance of pupils is very high. Information was also gotten through personal interview and experiences the data collected was analyzed by simple percentage and the responses were computed to solve the problem raised by the study.
CONCLUSION
From the findings, a high effect of poor nutrition was recorded among different groups but the effect of infection of poor nutrition decreased significantly with increasing age. This implies that young children of 2-8 years were more susceptible to poor nutrition as a disease than adult. This may be related to the fact that they in a period of rapid growth that increase the demands for protein and other vital nutrients needed by the body.
A seemingly high effect of poor nutrition on the academic performance of primary school pupils could have resolved due to some factors.
Firstly, it is very likely that more infection were acquire from the taking in of food that is very low in colorific value both in quality and quality which may result to marasmus and kwashiorkor in the pupils like.
Secondly, majority of the people are from poor parent background and as a result they are ignorant in the causes of poor nutrition due to low level of illiteracy which makes it difficult to them to afford the necessary balanced diet the child needs to grow.
Thirdly, most parent especially the women (i.e. mother) they are so conservative in their religion in the sense that, they find it difficult to eat any other food outside their culture because of their regions belief but forgetting that this food that they are rejecting may contain the desired nutrient which the body needs to grow properly.
RECOMMENDATION
In Africal and indeed Nigeria in particular poor nutrition is responsible for about 10% of hospital admission and 20% of out patient’s consultation children are particularly at a greater risk of suffering poor intervention being one of the major children killer in rural tropical Africans taking the life of so many children between the ages of 5 years, the disease causes marasmus. Kwashiorkor in children and pregnant woman and increase vulnerability to other disease.
On the basis of finding fro this research the following recommendation which the researcher believe will bring about a remarkable improvement on the attitude of pupils in the various primary schools as well as pregnant woman in our various communities at large.
- The government and private enterprise should sponsor vaccination campaigns and watching over the growth and development of children in the societies.
- The government should enforce and stress or all pregnant women to eat balance diet and other nourishing food items that will make them have a good birth weight during and after pregnancy.
- Government and private organization should establish food supplication programmes to fortify food for general consumption.
- Communities should also contribute in the provision of nutrition education programmes protecting the drinking water supply building of latrines/toilet keeping the surrounding clean.
- The government should encourage all mothers to return to their pediatrician or health clinic seven days after birth and when the baby is one month old.
- The mother should also seek professional health care centre in the baby shows symptoms of dehydration severe diarrhea or fever.
REFERENCE
- Awake (2003): poor nutrition the silent emergency Vol 3 30: 31
- Birch .1. (2002): food science 2nd edition published by John College edited by sim pass more and V. William page109
- F.A.O (2001) food and agriculture organization eliminating hunger and poor nutrition is technically feasible No 5 (Geneva).
- Gordon (2004) food nutrition 1st edition page 30
- Jellife .A. (2003). Nutrition and disease 2nd edition
- Page 2-10 PP. Macmillan education limited page 300 maragy publisher Ltd London pages 120
- Ndungi H.K (2004) food and nutrition for schools and published by Evans brothers Ltd London 163 PP
- Rickets .F. (2005) food health and published by series teaching of physical and health education.
- Tollsaint, E. (2003) Cured pediatrics Therapy 2nd Edition UNICEF (2003) United National Children Emergency Fund.
- WHO (2003) World Health Organization Technical report.
