Prevalence of Malnutrition of Pupils in Primary Schools in Ado Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria

The study investigated the prevalence of malnutrition of pupils in selected primary schools in Ado local government area of Ekiti state, Nigeria. The study population was drawn from Public Primary School (PPS), Private Primary School (PRPS) and State Pilot Primary School (SPPS) in the Ado local government area of Ekiti State. Purposive Sampling techniques were used for the selection of respondents. A total 200 primary school student comprising of 120 (60 %) females and 80 (40 %) males participated in the study. Well tested and validated questionnaires were used to elicit information from the respondents. Two research questions were raised and tested. The result revealed a high prevalence of malnutrition among the selected pupils in primary schools, using Body Mass Index (BMI). Prevalence of malnutrition was significantly higher in Public primary school (PPS under weight: 18.5 % and overweight 10.5 %) followed by Private primary school (PRPS under weight: 10.5 % and over weight: 15.5 %) and State Pilot primary school (SPPS under weight: 9.0 % and over weight: 111.0 %). Hence, it is recommended that activities to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition should be encouraged.