eng Science and Education Publishing American Journal of Public Health Research 2327-6703 2021-05-20 9 4 142 148 10.12691/ajphr-9-4-3 AJPHR2021943 article Agbo Adouko Edith Chiakoun edipagbo@gmail.com 1 2 Bl¨¦y¨¦r¨¦ Nahounou Matthieu 3 Allico Jean Maurel 4 M¨¦it¨¦ Souleymane 4 Bredou Atta Georges 4 Brou Kouakou 4 Djaman Allico Joseph 4 Kouam¨¦ Christophe 4 World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF), 08 BP 2823 Abidjan 08, C?te d¡¯Ivoire Physiology, pharmacology and pharmacopoeia laboratory, Nangui Abrogoua University, 02 BP 801 Abidjan 02, C?te d¡¯Ivoire Department of Biochemistry Basic and Clinical Unit of Toxicology, Phytochemistry and Metabolomics, Pasteur Institute of C?te d¡¯Ivoire, P.O. Box 490, Abidjan 22, C?te d'Ivoire In underdeveloped countries a great number of school-age children suffered of malnutrition and anemia. This is due to a less diversified diet and had an impact on their intellectual capacities. A study was conducted in four schools in Nawa region of Côte d¡¯Ivoire with the aim to evaluate the impact of selected foods on anemic children nutritional status. One meal was proposed by school: rice with tomato sauce and meat, sweet potatoes stew with soya, sweet potatoes stew with cowpea and sweet potatoes stew with soya and cowpea. A total of 75 children aged from 6 to 15 years old participate, and they ate the meals twice in a week for 3 months. Anthropometric measurements (weight and height) and blood sampling were taken at 3 periods: at the beginning, middle and end of the study. The results showed that hemoglobin values were under normal rate for all children except in Petit-Bondoukou and Takoreagui in period 1 (11.67 and 11.82 g/dl respectively). There was an increase of anemia prevalence from 18.18 % to 40.91 % for children who ate rice with tomato sauce and meat and from 43.75 % to 50.00 % for children who ate potatoes stew with cowpea. But there was a decrease of anemia rate from 61.54 % to 53.83 % for children who ate potatoes stew with soya. Nutritional status according to anthropometric measurement increased for children of Gnaboya and Petit-Bondoukou. Albumin (33.25 g/l) and orosomucoid (0.69 mg/l) value of children who ate tomato sauce and meat were lower in period 1 than that of children of the other villages. According to prognostic inflammatory nutritional index, children present a low malnutrition risk which varied between 7.69 to 43.75 %. Diet diversification should be applied for a long period to better appreciate their impact on nutritional and anemia status improvement. http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajphr/9/4/3/ajphr-9-4-3.pdf children diversified diets anemia nutritional status