EFFECTIVENESS OF A PROPOSED PROGRAM FOR IMPROVING NUTRITIONAL HABITS AMONG MALNOURISHED CHILDREN AT SCHOOL AGE (AN APPLIED STUDY IN ELOTHMANYA VILLAGE – EL-GHARBYIA GOVERNORATE)

Abstract

Investing in the nutrition of children has the power to trigger huge social and economic changes in countries. With the right nutrients and care early in life, a child’s brain and body are able to grow to their full potential. Children who are more developed have better life chances: they live longer and healthier lives, they do better in school, they grow into more productive adults prepared to boost a country’s economic development, and they pass good practices on to future generations. Egypt Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) showed that around 6 in 10 children aged 5-19 years, regardless of sex, fall within the normal body mass index range for their age. Two percent or less of children are thin or severely thin. On the other hand, one-quarter of girls aged 5-19 years are overweight, and 10percent are obese. The proportions of boys found to be overweight (25 percent) and obese (11 percent) are very similar to the levels found among girls. The causes of nutritional problems in Egypt are interactions of many factors: most households are food insecure because of low income, high food prices and low local agricultural production, in addition to poor dietary practices due to lack of awareness, and inadequate health service provision capacities. On the other side the adoption of Western diets high in refined carbohydrates, saturated fats and sugars, as well as a more sedentary lifestyle are commonly cited as the major contributors to the increase in overweight and chronic diseases. Good nutrition, health and education are key factors on the global agenda. None of these three factors alone, however, will sufficient to achieve social and economic development; Nutrition education is a