ASSESSMENT OF THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF LOCAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS TO

DETERMINE THE NEED FOR A FOOD SUPLEMENTATION PROGRAM

by
GROUP 5
Ali, Nasreen V.
Balmes, Russ Russell P.
Chin, Ayessa A.
Elguira, Eugine Jason D.
Hamid, Shermalyn R.
Ibaez, Giancarlo G.
Ilagan, Ralph V.
Lomboy, Jeffrie S.
Lu, Jorenz Leandro W.
Macalino, Yvette Anne B.
Mariano, Maria Cristina M.
Popen, Jonelth Dec A.
Santiago, Jonas G.
Tamayo, Lorraine Erika V.
Doctor of Medicine, FEU-NRMF, 2014

Submitted to the Faculty of the

Department of Community and Family Medicine
Institute of Medicine
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
Research I

Far Eastern University-Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation

2014

Introduction

Malnutrition is highly prevalent in the Philippines, it is caused by several interrelated factors that
includes: health, physical, social, economic status and other relating factors of an individual (Dabon et
al., 2011; FAO, 2001). Distribution of food and how it is consumed by the populace have a corresponding
impact on their nutritional status. The leading nutritional problems in our country are Protein-energy
Malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies which predispose them to a certain nutrition and health risks
(FAO, 2001). Almost one in every three Filipino children from ages six to ten years old are underweight
and under-height for their age. The magnitude and severity of underweight school-age children were very
high in the provinces which then constrain school-age children from attending or performing well in school
(The Phil. Star, 2012). Children of this age range are regarded as vulnerable or at high risk due to
problems that arise during their growth development and survival. It is therefore important to assess the
nutritional status of these children in order to reduce the occurrence of malnutrition in our country.

A study presented the nutritional status of children from various places in Camarines Norte and
Palawan (Son et al., 2006). The data was collected from the Community-based Monitoring System
surveys and were arranged into nutritional categories as follows: severely undernourished, moderately
undernourished, mildly undernourished, normal nourishment, and over-nourished. Another research
compares the incidence of malnutrition of elementary students among the previous surveys to provide
monitoring of their economic status (Cerde et al., 2001). These few studies, as well as our research, used
anthropometric measurements as a tool for measuring nutritional status of the children. These studies
provided the effects of socioeconomic aspects that affect their nutrition, however, it remains a serious
concern regarding how their current nutrition affect their academic performance and lifestyle.

We proposed to determine the nutritional status of the Grade 3 students from West Fairview
Elementary School. To test this hypothesis, the researchers conducted a survey regarding the students
nutritional status and body mass index. Laboratory tests were also done in the study to determine if there
are parasitic infections, which may affect the students health.

Methodology

This chapter will discuss the account of how we plan to conduct this study. Inclusive to this
chapter are the following: research design, description of research participants and locale, sampling
technique, research instrument, and statistical treatment of data.

Research Design

A school based cross-sectional study was conducted on a selected group of grade 3 students
from West Fairview Elementary School, Quezon City. Data were collected by means of questionnaires
and anthropometric measurements of the students. To evaluate the nutritional status of the participants,
we used the pie charts for the overall graphical representation of the collected data.

The data gathered will be used to compute for the Body Mass Index (BMI) of each participant and
it will be classified according to: severely undernourished, very undernourished, undernourished, normal,
overweight, very overweight or extremely overweight. Moreover, classifying the participants accordingly
will help us to evaluate their current nutritional profile.

Description of Participants and Research Locale

The study was conducted in West Fairview Elementary School, located in West Fairview, Quezon
City. To provide focus in this study, all 521 Grade 3 students are then grouped equally into 8 groups
consisting of 65 students. These students were grouped randomly regardless of their age, gender and
section. We will collect the data needed for the study namely; height and weight to compute for their Body
Mass Index (BMI) for nutritional evaluation.

Sampling Technique

Among 521 participants, 65 of those were chosen as a subject by following the stages of stratified
random sampling method. This method will aid us in determining the students current nutritional status.

Research Instruments
Since the participants are all minors, an informed consent was needed to conduct this study. It is
important that their parents or legal guardian will agree to the consent. The participants were given a
questionnaire to answer the information needed for the study (i.e. age, sex, date of birth, etc.).

All the data gathered from the participants will be confidential. The participants will go through
weight and height measurements to achieve their body mass index (BMI) permitting to their age. The
purpose of this is to classify these children/participants accordingly to the reference range of BMI. The
following participants who belong to the extreme borders of the reference range will need to undergo the
feeding program accordingly.

Statistical Treatment of Data

After collecting the height and weight measurements of the students as taken on July 31, 2014
we will calculate for body mass index (BMI) using BMI = weight (kg) / height (m) / height (m). Then, using
BMI guidelines as provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), we will categorize the students into
7 classes: severely undernourished, very undernourished, undernourished, normal weight, overweight,
very overweight, and severely overweight. We will further calculate the prevalence of each classification
within the total population and subpopulations as divided by genders male and female using the formula
as recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), prevalence = persons

affected with given health indicator / total population x 100. We will further qualify the data by graphically
displaying them in a basic pie chart and histogram in triplicate to show the proportions for total population,
male gender, and female gender.

Table: Archived male student data

MALES

Date Taken Birthday

Age (y)

Age (m)

Ht (m) Wt (kg) BMI

Nutritional
Status

Age (y)

Age (m)

Ht (m) Wt (kg) BMI

Nutritional
Status

1
2
3

Table: Archived female student data

FEMALES Date Taken Birthday

1
2
3

Graph: Tabulation of total students for each statistical category

Male
Female
Total
Graph: Prevalence of each statistical category for each student population

Male
Female
Total

Reference:
1. Poor nutritional status of schoolchildren in urban and peri-urban areas of Ouagadougou (Burkina
Faso)
Charles Dabon1,2, Hlne F Delisle1* and Olivier Receveur1
http://www.nutritionj.com/content/10/1/34
2. Nutrition Country Profiles by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
ftp://ftp.fao.org/ag/agn/nutrition/ncp/phlmap.pdf
3. Socioeconomic Determinants of the Nutritional Status of Children: An Ordered Probit Analysis
Michael David A. Son and Ralph M. Menchavez
http://www.pep-net.org/fileadmin/medias/pdf/files_events/CBMS_nov2006/Son-pa.pdf
4. Updating of Nutritional Status of Filipino Children of the Regional Level
C. M. Cerdea,MCN; R. D. Lana,MStat.;W. L. Molano, MStat.;M. C. Chavez,BSFN & C. A.
Nones, BSMath
http://www.fnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=917
5. Malnutrition affects school performance
The Philippine Star
http://www.philstar.com/health-and-family/2012/07/03/823707/malnutrition-affects-schoolperformance
6. WHO BMI-for-age (5-19) Growth Reference Charts
http://www.who.int/growthref/who2007_bmi_for_age/en/
7. CDC Prevalence Calculations
http://www.cdc.gov/pednss/how_to/read_a_data_table/calculating_prevalence.htm