The Midday Meal Programme should provide how much energy for children?

Appeared in: RUHS, Jaipur, PB B.Sc Nursing Entrance-2020

Explanation

The Midday Meal Programme (MDMP) is designed as a supplementary nutritional support, not a replacement for a child's home diet.
The core guideline for the program is to provide a meal that supplies at least one-third of the child's total daily energy (calorie) requirement.
Simultaneously, the meal must also provide half of the child's daily protein requirement.
This intervention helps combat classroom hunger, improve concentration, and increase school enrollment and attendance.

Option A: Providing two-thirds of the total energy in a single meal is too high for a supplementary program and would be inappropriate.
Option B: The 'half' requirement applies to the daily protein needs, not the energy (calorie) needs. This is a common point of confusion.
Option D: The meal is intended to supplement, not replace, the food a child receives at home. Covering the total energy requirement is not the program's objective.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Nutritional Guidelines of the Midday Meal Programme (MDMP) as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Community health nurses play a vital role in monitoring the implementation of school health programs like the MDMP, ensuring nutritional standards are met and assessing the health status of children.
Understanding these guidelines is crucial for identifying and addressing malnutrition (both undernutrition and overnutrition) in school-aged children, a key public health concern in India.
What if? If a nurse observes that children in a school are consistently not finishing their midday meal, the first step is to investigate the palatability, quality, and variety of the food being served, and engage with the school management and cooks to address the issue.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the key components of the question: 'Midday Meal Programme' and 'energy requirement'.
Recognize that this is a factual recall question about a major national health program in India.
Recall the specific nutritional guidelines set by the government for this program.
Differentiate between the requirements for energy (calories) and protein. The guideline specifies one-third for energy and one-half for protein.
Select the option that correctly states the energy requirement, which is 'One third of the total energy requirement'.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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E6 Parks TextBook of Preventive & Social Medicine part 2 — Subpart A (pp 1-232 of 464) p. 198-200

Practise the full RUHS, Jaipur, PB B.Sc Nursing Entrance-2020

Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.