Dietary pattern, nutritional status, anaemia and anaemia-related knowledge in urban adolescent college girls of Bangladesh.

OBJECTIVES To examine dietary pattern and nutritional status of adolescent college girls of Dhaka, Bangladesh with a particular focus on the prevalence of anaemia and appropriate knowledge about it among them. METHODS A cross sectional study was conducted. Sixty-five adolescent girls aged 15-19 years were selected randomly from Home Economics college of Dhaka. A 7-day food frequency questionnaire was used to investigate the dietary pattern. Nutrient intake of the participants was assessed by 24h recall method. RESULTS Habitual dietary pattern indicated poor consumption of milk, liver and leafy vegetables. Food intake data revealed a deficit of 473 kcal/day in energy. Mean intake of carbohydrate and fat were lower than RDA; while protein, iron, vitamin A and vitamin C intakes were much higher. Anthropometric data indicated that 63% of the girls were stunted (height-for-age < 95% of NCHS reference values) and 45% were underweight (weight-for-age < 75% of NCHS reference values). The prevalence of anaemia (Hb < 12 g/dl) among the participants was 23%. About 17% had low serum iron (< 40 microg/dl), 23% showed evidence of iron-deficient erythropoiesis (Transferrin Saturation < 15%) and only 8% had vitamin C deficiency (< 0.29 mg/dl). About 65% of the participants had correct knowledge about the causes of anaemia; while 72.3% and 80% respectively, knew about the prevention and treatment of anaemia. Surprisingly, 73.8% of the participants were not aware about the sources of iron-rich foods. CONCLUSIONS Results indicate an overall poor nutritional status of the urban adolescent college girls in Bangladesh and need for appropriate nutrition interventions to overcome the problem.