EFFECTS OF POOR NUTRITIONAL NEEDS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF PRIMARY SIX PUPILS IN SOME SELECTED PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN IMILLIKE TOWN

EFFECTS OF POOR NUTRITIONAL NEEDS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF PRIMARY SIX PUPILS IN SOME SELECTED PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN IMILLIKE TOWN

INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Food is one of the basic needs of man. Our body needs food to do its work. Food is vital to life and may be any solid or liquid substance which when eaten and digested by the body, provides it with necessary materials to enable it grow, replace worn-out and damaged parts and to function normally. The human body is like a complex piece of machinery in that it is prone to faults and weaknesses if it is poorly maintained. This can happen if the daily food intake is in any unbalanced form. Again, any nutritious substance that people or animal eat or drink, or that plants absorb, in order to maintain life and growth (Wikipedia dictionary.com, 2011). In essence, food is made up of nutrients.

Food and nutrition is one of the branches of Home Economics which deals with food and its nutrients. It includes food processing, presentation, food preparation, meal management and services. Lack of adequate intake of these nutrients lead to poor nutritional needs on the academic performance among the primary school children, in particular primary six pupils in rural areas.

Anazonwu, (2003) pointed out that the wealth of a nation depends to a large extent on the health of these citizens. She further said children are the future generation who are expected to grow up in good health, productive adults, likewise are able to make a full contribution towards the economic and social progress of their country. In other words, health is wealth.

Pyke (1982) says that poor diet and disease actually result from underlying causes related to insufficient access to food by families or household. Inadequate caring practices provide vulnerability of the members of the family, in particular, children may be exposed to poor nutrition. It is necessary to identify in a specific situation what constitute the major constraints to providing adequate access to food, to health services and to certain extent education.

According to the World Summit for Children (2000), each day, 60,000 children die from poor nutrition and disease, including acquired immune deficiency syndrome AIDS, from lack of clean water, inadequate sanitation and from the effects of the drug problem. in children, poor nutrition is synonymous with growth failure.

Looking at the adverse effect of poor nutrition on the health, growth and education of the pupils as well as the brighter future of the nations, socio economics development, this study, therefore, become necessary to attempt to uncover the negative impact of poor nutrition on primary six pupils of Imillike Agu in Udenu Local Government of Enugu State with a view to awakening the consciousness of parents, teachers, government and other stakeholders in education. This will go a long way in improving the health, growth and educational needs of the pupils as well as the socio-economic advancement of Imillike town and nation at large.

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