Assessment of nutritional status of adolescent girls in an urban slum area

The term “Adolescence” represents a hyper anabolic phase of growth, mediated by normal factors and characterized by peck velocities of growth (Gopalan, 1989). Adolescents are more vulnerable to malnutrition. The aim of this study is to assess the nutritional status of adolescent girls of an urban slum area of Jaipur. This is a cross sectional study design using multistage random sampling method 100 adolescent girls aged 13-18 years were selected as the study subjects. Information was obtained on a predesigned and pretested interview schedule. The data thus obtained was analyzed using SPSS. Analysis shows that 34% of adolescents girls were undernourished (BMI <18.5) & 12% adolescent girls were at high risk of developing obesity in near future due to increased (BMI >25.9). Caste, religion and marital status were significantly (P<0.05) associated with nutritional status of adolescents. Therefore the study recommends the strong need of nutritional education for adolescents in an urban area of Jaipur. Focus will be given to adolescents who are married & belong to weaker section of society.