Prevalence Of Anaemia In Adolescent Girls Of Rural Dehradun

Adolescence has been defined by the World Health Organization as the period of life spanning the ages between 10 to 19 years. Most Important physical, psychological, and behavioural changes take place in this period making this a vulnerable period in the growth and development cycle. Girls are more likely to be affected due to various social and economic reasons. In an Indian family with limited income and, the girl child is more likely to be neglected. The adolescent girl deprived of nutrition and education and is supposed to perform all the household chores. On top of this, the additional challenge of menstrual blood loss makes them highly vulnerable to Anaemia. As per the estimates of the World Health Organization, the 1/6 th of the World’s Population is comprised of Adolescents that is 1.2 billion people aged 10 to 19 years. India has the largest adolescent population in the world, about 21% of the Indian population comprises of Adolescents (that is 243 million people). Thus the Adolescents constitute a sizable proportion of Indian population. A number of adolescent girls have been found Malnourished and Anaemic along with being the recipient of inadequate dietary intake in various studies. The "State of the World's Children 2011" report from UNICEF states that more than half (56%) of adolescent girls in India are suffering from Anaemia. This study was planned to demonstrate the problem of anaemia in adolescent girls and to study the socio-economic and familial factors related to anaemia