Abstract
A total of 300 children (2-11years old) selected from nine primary
schools in Nsukka L.G.A. of Enugu state were used for this study.
Out of the 300 children, 150 were randomly selected from schools
involved in school lunch programme while 150 were picked from
schools not involved in school lunch. Anthropometric measurements
(weight and height) were conducted on these children. The study
revealed that most of the children between 2-6years had mean weight
and height values which exceeded the National Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS) recommended standards. However, none of the
children between 7-11years old met the NCHS recommended
standard both for weight and height. Higher prevalence of
malnutrition (stunting 30.7%, wasting 40% and underweight 20%)
was observed among children who did not participate in the school-
meal-plus programme when compared with the participating ones
(stunting25.3%, wasting 17.3%, underweight 14.7%). However, the
numbers of malnourished children in the two groups (participants
and non-participants) were not statistically significant (p < 0.05)