IJCM_42A: Nutritional Assessment and Association of Malnutrition with Food Insecurity among Adolescent Females of Age 15-19 Years in an Urban Slum of Raipur City

Abstract

Background: Adolescent girls constitute about one-tenth of our country’s population. They suffer the brunt of malnutrition due to increased nutritional needs; compounded by urbanization, peer and social pressure. They are food insecure either due to unavailability, lack of resources or lower priority in food allocation. The NFHS-5 revealed that in the age group of 15€“19 years, about 39.7% of girls were thin, while 5.4% were overweight or obese. Objective: To assess the nutritional status of adolescent females of age 15-19 years in the urban field practice area of the CFM department of AIIMS Raipur and to determine if malnutrition is associated with food insecurity. Methodology: A sample size of 401 was determined, using the prevalence of 46.1% malnourishment among girls aged 15-19 years from NFHS-4 data. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Participants were selected using consecutive sampling method, and anthropometric measurements were taken. Food insecurity was measured using Food Insecurity Experiential Scale. Results: According to WHO BMI-for-age Z scores for adolescents, 2% had severe thinness (1 to 2SD) and 1.5% were obese (>2SD). The odds of being thin (low BMI for age) were high among girls who faced moderate to severe food insecurity [OR 3.2, CI 1.5-6.8, P <0.002]. Conclusion: The high prevalence of thinness and its significant association with food insecurity as revealed in our study, calls for immediate nutritional policy interventions to make this vulnerable group, food secure.

Keywords

• nutritional assessment
• adolescent females
• malnutrition
• anthropometry
• food insecurity