Assessment of Nutritional Status and Dietary Diversity among in-school Adolescents of East wollega Zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

Adolescence covers 10-19 years of human age. It is considered as a nutritionally critical period of life. Rapid growth and changes that occurs during adolescences demands both macro and micronutrients including iron. The pre-pregnancy nutritional status of young girls is important as it impacts on the course and the outcome of their pregnancy. Hence, addressing the nutritional needs of adolescents could be an important step towards breaking the vicious cycle of intergenerational malnutrition. This study aims to assess adolescent nutritional status and associated factors among school going adolescent girls in wayu tuka district, Oromia,Ethiopia,2016.A school based cross-sectional study was conducted among 448 in-school adolescents selected from all government schools of Wayutuka district, south west Ethiopia from February to March, 2016.A pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic information. Weight and height were measured using standard procedures and were and converted to BMI for age z-score based on WHO Anthro-plus software Version 1.0.4. Data were analyzed using STATA version12.Binary logistic regression with 95%CI was used to see the associations. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. The proportion of thinness and overweight girls based on the BMI for age z-score was 33% and 3.6%, respectively. The major determinants identified for underweight were place of residence (AOR=2.2; 95% CI=1.9to7) older age (AOR=3.6; 95%CI=2.7 to 8.5) and family size (AOR=3.4; 95% CI=1.3 to 11.6).One in three school going female adolescents are thin. Place of residence, older age and family size are factors which determine adolescent thinness. To improve the prevailing adolescent nutritional problem, policies need to address the aforementioned identified determinants.

Keywords: Determinants, Female adolescent, Nutritional Status,Thinness, , Rural Ethiopia