Association between Food Intake, BMI and PEFR of School Children (10-14 years) in the Union Territory of Puducherry

Drastic transition in the dietary habits of children has resulted in an uprising trend in childhood respiratory morbidity. Diet being a modifiable risk factor for respiratory discomforts, the authors aimed to investigate the association between food intake, Body Mass Index and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate by examining cross-sectional data from 1926 school children (10-14 years) selected from the four regions of the Union Territory of Puducherry during 2015 to 2017. The results revealed that Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) was prevalent and statistically significant among majority of the children in the Union Territory of Puducherry. The lowest minimum (228.2 L/min) and lowest maximum (330.9 L/min) PEFR values was noted among milk consumers while the highest maximum was seen among strawberry eaters (410 L/min). The minimum range of PEFR for fruit intake was found to be lowest for banana (235.8 L/min). Among the animal sources, fish eaters had the highest maximum PEFR (355.5 L/min). Those consuming fried foods had PEFR value of 353.8 L/min which was same as that of banana eaters. Of the 19 food items the highest difference in mean PEFR value within each food item was observed in strawberry (151.4 L/min) and the lowest in chicken (101.1 L/min). The implication of this study is that vegetarian diet consisting of more fresh fruits and vegetables have a stronger association with PEFR values when compared to non-vegetarian diet.