Prevalence of Anaemia among Students in the Jardinah Region and Its Relationship to Dietary Behaviours
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37375/sjfssu.v4i2.2567Keywords:
School students, anemia, breakfast and Benghazi, Jardinah regionAbstract
Background: School students are among the most vulnerable groups to malnutrition. It's possible that it's a result of eating habits that are incorrect, which results in complications and physical changes. These changes may be in the short or long term in successive age stages, which causes many disorders and defects in their healthy development and growth.
Design: This study was conducted during the period of 2022-2023, focusing on the dietary habits of students in four randomly selected schools in the Jardinah area of Benghazi city. The study involved administering a questionnaire to assess dietary behaviours, including breakfast consumption, fruit intake, water consumption, and measuring haemoglobin levels. The study sample consisted of 33 male and female students, ranging in age from 9 to 18 years.
Results: The study findings revealed that among school students, the prevalence of anaemia was 15.5% for males and 12.1% for females, the highest rates observed in the 9-11-year-old age group. Additionally, a significant proportion of students demonstrated healthy dietary habits. Specifically, (60.6%) of the participants reported regular breakfast consumption, while (54.5%) reported consuming fruits. Furthermore, the study highlighted that (42.4%) of the students reported regular water intake.
Conclusions: It has been found that schoolchildren typically adhere to the habit of having breakfast, eating a substantial amount of fruits and vegetables, and regularly drinking water. This may be a contributing factor to the moderately low prevalence of anaemia compared to the classification established by the World Health Organization for the severity levels of anaemia.
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