Nutritional Assessment And The Dietary Intake Among Adolescents In Tribal Area Of Bihar

Abstract

Research question: What id the nutritional status and dietary intake of adolescents in tribal area of Bihar? Objective : To study the dietary intake and nutritional status of the adolescent boys and girls of the tribal districts of Bihar. Study design: Two stage design was adopted with probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling. Setting: Study covered 396 villages from 17 tribal districts of Bihar. Subjects: 2321 adolescents (1342 boys & 979 girls) of the age groups 7 â€" 17 years were studied. Methods: 24 hours recall method was used to assess the dietary intake and anthropometric measurements included height and weight. Dietary intake was compared with Indian Council of Medical Research recommended dietary allowances(RDA) and nutritional status assessed using distance chart. Results: Thee intake of protein was broadly in line with the recommended dietary allowances(RDA) in all age groups. The calorie deficiency was 29 percent and the magnituse of protein deficiency was about 21 percent. More than half of the adolescents were taking diets deficient in calories in Godda and Singhbhum(east & west). Conclusion: General development and intervention strategies are needed to improve the dietary intake of adolescents specially girls so that their requirement of energy, protein, vitamins and minerals are met.