Objective: To assess the nutritional status of school going children in Rural Blocks of Melmaruvathur. Methods: School children from various primary and middle level educational facilities from a rural health block were surveyed during the School Health Program. Height and weight was measured following standard procedures. MS Excel and Interactive statistics page were used for analysis of data. Results: Out of 428 students 288 (67.2%) were underweight 151 (52.4%) girls and 137 (47.6%) were boys and 60(14%) (40 boys and 20 girls) stunted. The overall prevalence of under nutrition was 67%. The maximum underweight was seen in the age group of 10years.girls were more underweight than boys. Conclusion: The nutritional status of school age children is considerably low in this health block, poverty and other factors also contribute to the under nutrition
