RESUMO
Objective@#To investigate the status of physical development, vitamin A and vitamin D among primary and middle school students in poor rural areas in Hubei, to evaluate the implementation effectiveness of the Nutrition Improvement Program for Rural Compulsory Education Students (abbreviated to the program) from 2012 to 2021.@*Methods@#In Enshi City, a pilot monitoring county of the program in Hubei, and a total of 2 554 students from one primary school and one junior middle school were randomly selected. During September to October in 2012-2021, height was measured, and fasting venous blood was collected from students, and serum vitamin A and vitamin D were detected.@*Results@#From 2012 to 2021, height, serum vitamin A and serum vitamin D concentration increased by 2.7 cm, 96.7 μg/L and 8.6 ng/mL. Growth retardation rate decreased by 1.0%. The subclinical and clinical deficiency of serum vitamin A decreased by 37.3% and 6.2%. The subclinical and clinical deficiency of serum vitamin D decreased by 45.7% and 8.5%. Height was positively correlated with serum vitamin A status and negatively correlated with serum vitamin D status ( r =0.08,-0.08, P <0.01).@*Conclusion@#The pilot counties of the program in Enshi, has witnessed improvement in height, serum vitamin A and vitamin D status among primary and secondary students. However, future efforts remains essential as subclinical deficiency of vitamin A and vitamin D are noted in some students. Serum vitamin A is positively associated with height, and vitamin D is negatively associated with height.Considering the correlation between serum vitamin A and vitamin D status with height, continued efforts should be implemented in poor rural areasto strengthen targeted nutrition intervention for students in Hubei.