Author : Balanon, Concepcion C.

Summary : This study was undertaken to determine the socio-economic and dietary factors affecting the nutritional status of pre-school children in Catarman, Northern Samar. The data were collected from 173 households in nine barrios of the municipality of Catarman. The greatest bulk of the sample in this study were males from 4 to 5 years old. Fifty-eight percent of the subjects were suffering from varying degrees of malnutrition. Only 39.3 percent were normal while 2 percent were overweight. Most of the pre-schoolers in this study belonged to the low income family bracket with 6 to 8 household members. Farming was the major occupation of their parents. The fathers, generally had higher educational attainment than the mothers. The families also had a low level of living.