Dietary practices, health status and hygiene observance of slum kids: A pilot study in an Asian developing country

The study was conducted on kids living at slums of two statistical subdivisions (i.e., Bangladeshi constitutional capital Dhaka city and commercial capital Chittagong city) in an Asian developing country. There were 71% boys and 29% girls of 4-18 years in age to take part in the data collecting survey in the study areas during the period from September 2014 to July 2015 by using structured questionnaire applying simple random sampling technique. The anthropometric measurements and socio-demographic data were collected from the slum dwelling kids. Analyses reveal that 37.26% kids were malnourished and the overall health status is not influenced through their education status Findings demonstrate that 63.63% kids were able to manage three times meal a day and 4.54% two times snacks a day. Results also divulged that about 79.1% kids washed their hand before eating, 73.63% brushed teeth once a day, 68.18% took bath in a daily basis and 67.27% were able to use safe water for cooking and drinking condition.