What are the causes of nutritional problems among school children?

January 2, 2026 •

4 min read

According to UNICEF, 149 million children under 5 years were estimated to be stunted in 2022, a global issue that extends to school-aged children. Understanding the various systemic and individual causes of nutritional problems among school children is critical for their long-term health and academic success.

Quick Summary

This article examines the underlying causes of nutritional problems in school-aged children, including socioeconomic disparities, inadequate diets, lack of nutritional knowledge, and environmental influences that affect food choices and intake.

Key Points

Socioeconomic Status: Poverty and food insecurity limit access to nutritious food, forcing reliance on cheaper, energy-dense options, which can cause both undernutrition and overnutrition.
Inadequate Nutritional Knowledge: A lack of nutritional education among parents and caregivers contributes to poor feeding practices and dietary choices for their children.
Poor Dietary Habits: The high consumption of energy-dense, processed "junk food" and frequent meal skipping negatively impacts child nutrition and academic performance.
Environmental Influences: Aggressive marketing of unhealthy foods and the food environment within schools can heavily influence children's dietary preferences and choices.
Micronutrient Deficiencies: A lack of essential vitamins and minerals like iron, zinc, and Vitamin D is widespread and significantly impairs a child's health and cognitive development.
Underlying Health Issues: Conditions such as digestive disorders and infections can prevent the proper absorption of nutrients, contributing to malnutrition despite adequate food intake.

Socioeconomic Factors

Socioeconomic status is a primary determinant of a child's nutritional status. In many low- and middle-income countries, as well as in pockets of developed nations, poverty and limited resources create significant barriers to a healthy diet.

Poverty and Food Insecurity

Households with lower incomes often struggle with food insecurity, meaning they lack consistent access to enough affordable, nutritious food. This leads to several nutritional issues:

Reliance on Cheaper Foods: Budgetary constraints often force families to purchase cheaper, energy-dense processed foods that are high in sugars, salts, and unhealthy fats but low in essential vitamins and minerals.
Both Undernutrition and Overnutrition: Poverty can lead to both undernutrition (stunting, wasting, and underweight) due to a lack of overall food and overnutrition (overweight and obesity) from diets heavy in cheap, calorie-rich, nutrient-poor foods.
Stress on Families: Food insecurity can cause chronic stress in the household, affecting eating patterns and potentially impacting a child's health and cognitive development.

Parental Education and Awareness

The educational level of parents, particularly mothers, is strongly correlated with a child’s nutritional well-being. Limited nutritional knowledge can result in inadequate feeding practices. While many parents want the best for their children, a lack of awareness about balanced diets, portion sizes, and the nutritional value of different foods can contribute to poor choices. Conversely, higher parental education is associated with better awareness of sanitation, health practices, and better resource allocation for their children.

Unhealthy Dietary Habits

Unbalanced Diets and Junk Food Consumption

Modern lifestyles and urbanisation have led to a shift in dietary patterns, with increased consumption of processed foods high in energy, fats, and sugars. Children are particularly susceptible to this due to:

Marketing Exposure: Aggressive marketing of sugary snacks, soft drinks, and fast food targets children, creating preferences for unhealthy options.
High-Calorie, Low-Nutrient Foods: The high intake of junk food displaces healthier options, leading to an imbalance in a child's diet and failing to provide the necessary nutrients for growth and development.

Meal Skipping

Skipping meals, particularly breakfast, is another prevalent issue among school children that contributes to poor nutrition. Students who skip breakfast often experience reduced concentration, memory issues, and fatigue during school hours. In contrast, school breakfast programs have been shown to increase nutrient intake and improve academic performance.

Environmental and Social Influences

The School Food Environment

The food and snack options available at and around schools significantly impact students' dietary choices. This includes the quality and nutritional value of school meals, the snacks sold in vending machines, and the offerings from nearby food vendors. A school environment that heavily promotes or provides unhealthy foods can undermine efforts to teach students about healthy eating.

Peer Influence and Social Norms

Social dynamics among peers can also shape eating habits. Children often mimic the eating behaviors of their friends. If unhealthy eating is the norm within a peer group, it can be challenging for a child to make healthy food choices. Additionally, cultural traditions and dietary customs play a role in shaping overall eating patterns.

Health and Biological Issues

Micronutrient Deficiencies

Even with sufficient calorie intake, a diet lacking diversity can lead to micronutrient malnutrition, also known as "hidden hunger". Common deficiencies among school-aged children include:

Iron: Deficiency leads to anemia, causing fatigue, poor concentration, and developmental delays.
Vitamin D: Essential for bone health and muscle development, deficiency can cause pain and irritability.
Zinc: Important for immunity, growth, and cognitive function, low levels can result in frequent sickness and impaired healing.
Calcium: Crucial for bone growth, low calcium can lead to brittle nails and cramps.

Digestive Disorders

Underlying health conditions, such as digestive disorders or food allergies, can impair the body's ability to properly absorb and utilize nutrients, leading to malnutrition even with adequate dietary intake. Infections and intestinal parasites can further compound these problems.

Comparison of Contributing Factors


Factor Category	Description	Primary Manifestation	Prevention/Intervention Strategies
Socioeconomic	Poverty, food insecurity, low parental education.	Undernutrition (stunting, wasting), Overnutrition (obesity).	School feeding programs, nutrition education, social safety nets.
Dietary Habits	High intake of junk food, meal skipping, unbalanced diets.	Overnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, poor academic performance.	Nutrition education, healthier school menus, parental awareness campaigns.
Environmental	Unhealthy school food environment, marketing, peer influence.	Unhealthy food choices, high junk food consumption.	School nutrition policies, restricting junk food advertising to children.
Health & Biological	Micronutrient deficiencies, digestive disorders, infections.	Specific vitamin and mineral deficiencies, impaired growth.	Supplementation, health screenings, improved sanitation and hygiene.

Conclusion

The causes of nutritional problems among school children are complex and interconnected, ranging from broad socioeconomic issues like poverty and food insecurity to individual factors such as poor dietary habits and lack of knowledge. The school and home environments, along with biological predispositions, all play a critical role in a child's nutritional status. Addressing these problems requires a multi-pronged approach involving governments, schools, families, and communities. Implementing comprehensive strategies—such as robust school feeding programs, integrating nutrition education into the curriculum, and raising parental awareness—is essential. By tackling these root causes, we can significantly improve the health, well-being, and academic potential of school children, empowering them to build healthier and more productive lives. For more information on promoting healthy diets, see the World Health Organization's fact sheets.

Frequently Asked Questions

Poverty limits access to affordable, nutritious foods, leading families to often depend on less expensive, energy-dense options that lack essential micronutrients. This can result in both undernutrition and obesity.

The school environment influences child nutrition through the availability of school meals, vending machine options, and food vendors near the school. Nutrition education integrated into the curriculum can help promote better eating habits.

Yes, poor nutrition is linked to reduced concentration, memory problems, and lower test scores. Deficiencies in key nutrients like iron and zinc can particularly affect cognitive functions, and hunger can be a major distraction.

Higher parental education, especially maternal education, is often correlated with better child nutrition. Educated parents tend to have greater knowledge of healthy feeding practices and better allocate resources for their children.

Common deficiencies include iron, Vitamin D, calcium, and zinc. A lack of sufficient fiber, protein, and other vitamins is also frequently observed due to unbalanced diets.

Junk food is typically high in calories, sugar, and unhealthy fats but low in essential vitamins and minerals. Excessive consumption displaces nutritious foods and can contribute to overweight and obesity, a form of malnutrition.

Schools can implement comprehensive nutrition policies, offer healthier school meal and snack options, provide nutrition education, and engage parents to promote healthy eating habits both at school and at home.

Yes, while malnutrition exists globally, both undernutrition and overnutrition are particularly prevalent in low- and middle-income countries. Within regions, socioeconomic disparities can lead to varied nutritional outcomes.