Int J Cur Res Rev | Vol 13 • Issue 22 • November 2021 115 Prevalence and Risk Factors for Malnutrition among Rural School Children in Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh, India Goruntla Narayana 1* , Dudekula Ruha Thasmiya 1 , Poluru Prasuna Chowdary 1 , Kasturi Vishwanathasetty Veerabhadrappa 2 , Madhale Milka D 3 , Kandula Usharani 3 , Murugesan Reetha 3 1 Department of Pharmacy Practice, Raghavendra Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (RIPER), KR Palli Cross, Chiyyedu Post, Anantapur – 515721, Andhra Pradesh, India; 2 Department of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Arsi University, Asella, Ethiopia; 3 Depart - ment of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, Arsi University, Asella, Ethiopia. Corresponding Author: Gorilla Narayana, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Raghavendra Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (RIPER) – Autonomous, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India – 515721; Phone: +91-9959835600; Email: narayanagoruntla@gmail.com ISSN: 2231-2196 (Print) ISSN: 0975-5241 (Online) Received: 15.03.2021 Revised: 03.05.2021 Accepted: 20.06.2021 Published: 20.11.2021 INTRODUCTION Globally, including in India, health complications associ- ated with undernutrition and deficiency of vitamins is sig- nificant public health problem. 1 Nutritional status during school age is a major predictor of nutritional and health status in adult life. The quality of life of the children resid- ing in rural settings is inferior compared to the urban set- tings of India. 2 School-age is the dynamic period for the physical growth and mental development of the child. Evidence shows that poor nutritional status is the primary cause of low school en- rolment, absenteeism, early dropouts, and low performance. 3 In the current scenario, the nutritional status of children was very unsatisfactory in India. According to the National Fam- ily Health Survey (NFHS) report, about 45.5% of children are suffering from disorders associated with malnutrition in India. 4 Even though India has a higher Gross National Original Research International Journal of Current Research and Review DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.31782/IJCRR.2021.132206 IJCRR Section: Healthcare ISI Impact Factor (2019-20): 1.628 IC Value (2019): 90.81 SJIF (2020) = 7.893 Copyright@IJCRR ABSTRACT Introduction: There was a scarcity of evidence on malnutrition-related factors among school-going children ≥ 5 years in rural India. Objective: To assess the prevalence of stunting, underweight, wasting, and associated factors in school children of Anantapur district. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in a primary and secondary school located in rural settings of Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. A multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select the children for our study. The study was approved by the institutional review board and registered in the clinical trial registry of India. A suitable data collection form was used to collect information about socio-demographics, utilization of government nutritional programs, physical activity, and WHO anthropometric parameters. Chi-square Fisher exact test was used to associate predictors with malnutrition measures. The height-for-age z-score for stunting, weight-for-age z-score for undernutrition, and weight-for-height z-score for wasting were computed in WHO anthroplus software. Results: A total of 390 children have participated in the study with a mean age of 11.8±2.4. The prevalence of stunting, under- weight, and wasting among school children was 25.4%, 11.5%, and 17.7%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the nutritional measures among male and female children. Predictors like illiteracy of parents, joint family, and non-healthcare occupations were significantly associated with malnutrition characteristics among school-going children. Conclusion: The study concludes that the prevalence of stunting, underweight, wasting was existing among rural school-going children. Even government provides nutritional schemes to overcome malnutrition disorders in school children, there was still a gap to prevent nutritional disorders. Targeted educational programs on the importance of child nutrition and malnutrition compli- cations towards mothers are required to improve nutritional status among school-going children. Key Words: Anthropometry, Children, Nutrition, Stunting, Under-weight, Wasting