Prevalence of Nutritional Anaemia among College Students and its Correlation with their Body Mass Index

Nutritional anaemia affects all age and sex groups in India. Iron deficiency anaemia is the most common micronutrient deficiency in the world affecting more than 2 billion persons. The Present study is an attempt to assess the prevalence of nutritional anaemia among College students in order to sensitize the masses about its impacts.120 college students in the age group of 18-27 years studying in the UG and PG Classes of Zoology of JCDAV College, Dasuya, Punjab were the subjects of study. They came from different socio economic, cultural backgrounds and various geographical regions of the country. Haemoglobin estimation was performed by sahlis Haemoglobinometer and observations were interpreted as per WHO criteria. The study showed that only 29.17 % students were normal and 70.83 % were affected with various grades of anaemia condition.50 % subjects being mildly anaemic and 20 % moderately anaemic while 0.83 % suffered from severe anaemia. Various socio-demographic characteristics like age, sex, social class, dietary habits and infections are the etiological factors for nutritional anaemia. Further studies with a large sample size are needed to draw out the exact proportion for prevalence of anaemia so that appropriate remedial measures can be taken.