South Africa is regarded as food secure; however, food insecurity and malnutrition are still
affecting school-aged children residing mostly in rural areas. This paper reports the
nutritional status and consumption patterns of school children from two purposively selected
schools located in Orange Farm informal settlement. Data collection methods included
socio-demographic background, dietary intakes, anthropometric measurements as well as
haematology and biochemical measurements. A socio-demographic questionnaire was used
to assess the socio-economic background of the households and a health questionnaire to
determine the health background of the caregivers, while a Quantitative Food Frequency
Questionnaire (QFFQ) and 24-hour recall were used to determine dietary intake patterns.
Anthropometric measurements were obtained in order to find out the prevalence of
nutritional status (underweight, wasting and stunting). Haematology and biochemical data
collected were used to determine the intake of nutrients and blood levels. Socio-demographic
and health questionnaires were captured and analysed using the Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS). Dietary intake, QFFQ and 24-hour food recall were analysed on the South
African Medical Research Council FoodFinder® software program. Anthropometric
measurements were captured and calculated using Anthro plus then analysed according to
the World Health Organisation growth standards while biochemical measurements were
analysed using biochemical analyses instrument and transferred to SPSS. The sociodemographic
results indicated that household food insecurity contributed to the poor dietary
intake of the children as the majority (71.0%) of the caregivers were unemployed and further
confirmed by household income of less than R1000 (75.0%) for five to ten household
members (44.4%).