Nutritional Status among Adolescents: Contributing Factors

Abstract

Nutritional status of adolescents is of much concern. Faulty eating habits can make them overweight and ultimately obese and even malnourished also. Obesity is a complex disorder involving an excessive amount of body fat. Obesity is not just a cosmetic concern; it increases the risk of diseases and health problems. There are various factors like biological, genetic, behavioural and environmental which contribute to obesity. An exploratory design was used to assess nutritional and its associated factors among 200 adolescents studying in selected schools of city Ludhiana, Punjab, selected by stratified random sampling technique. Data was collected by using anthropometric measurement i.e. height and weight to assess the BMI of children and structured interview schedule to assess the associated factors. Both descriptive and inferential statistics was used for analysis. The study revealed that slightly less than half of the children (48%) were underweight, whereas 46% of children were normal and 5.5% of the children were overweight and only 0.5% of children was obese. The prevalence of overweight/obesity in private school is 10% which is significantly (p<0.001) higher than government school (2%). The children whose mothers are housewives are more likely to be overweight. The study concluded that overweight was more prevalent in private school children as compared to government school children. Many adolescents are underweight also.  

Keywords: Overweight/obesity, nutritional status, contributing factors, adolescents  

Cite this Article Navjot Kaur, Jasbir Kaur, Prabhjot Saini. Nutritional Status among Adolescents: Contributing Factors. Research & Reviews: Journal of Health Professions. 2016; 6(3): 5–10p.