Growth and development of left-behind pupils in Qianxi county, Guizhou province

Objective To understand the status of growth and development in left-behind pupils in rural areas of Guizhou province.Methods Stratified cluster sampling method was adopted to seclect 1 129 pupils from 4 primary schools in Qianxi county.The number of left-behind and non-left-behind pupils were 415 and 714.The height and weight of the pupils were measured and compared.Results The average hight of left-behind and non-left-behind were 128.7cm and 130.5 cm for the boys and 128.5cm and 131.5cm for the girls,respectively.The average wight were 27.3kg and 28.7kg for the left-behind and non-left-behind boys and 27.3kg and 28.8kg for the left-behind and non-left-behind girls,respectively.The growth trend was consistent with general rules among the left-behind and non-left-behind pupils.The proportions of hight and weight belowthe middle level were 21.8% and 24.6% among the girl pupils and significantly higher than those of the control group.The proportion of weight belowthe middle level was 24.5% among the left-behind boy pupils and significantly higher than that of the control group.Conclusion The growth and development of left-behind pupils was lower than those of non-left-behind pupils.