Under-nutrition continues to be a primary cause of ill health and mortality among children in
developing countries. Besides poverty, there are other factors that directly or indirectly affect the nutritional
status of children. In the present study, an attempt was made to find the prevalence of under-nutrition among
school children in 4 – 14 year age group and the role of socio-demographic characteristics of mother on child
nutrition. Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in schools of Kaski district of Western
Nepal from January 2007 to June 2007. A total of 786 students were randomly selected from six schools in the
study area and nutritional status of the children was assessed by anthropometric measurements. Results:
Among 786 students, 26% of the students were found to be undernourished and 13% stunted, 12% wasted and
only 1% both stunted and wasted. The present study shows highly significant association (p<0.005) of maternal
factors like literacy, occupation, diet knowledge and monthly per-capita income respectively with child nutrition.
Conclusion: Maternal education status, socio-economic status, occupation and dietary knowledge are important
determinants of nutritional status of school children.