Obesity, overweight, underweight and stunting among the female adolescents in Shahroud, Iran

Introduction: Adolescence is one of the most critical stages of human growth. Its rate and scale is varied in different parts of the world therefore, the consideration of young girls’ dietary intake is highly important. The aim of this study was to determine nutritional status using anthropometric index in a representative sample of adolescent School Girls in Northeastern Iran Methodology: In a cross-sectional study in 2014 in Shahroud, a northeastern city in Iran, 731 female students from secondary school with a range of 11-14 years of age were studied using the two-phase cluster sampling method. After the initial assesmnets, their anthropometric data was calculated and compared with CDC2000 standard and finally, all the information was recorded in questionnaires. The research data was analyzed using SPSS software. Results: 731 female students participated in this study. The index of BMI and its comparison with the standards showed that 12.9% of the girls were underweight, 12.71% and 1.7% of them were overweight and obesity respectively. 8.2% were suffering from chronic malnutrition and 16.7% from mild malnutrition. Conclusion: The results showed that the studied female students are suffering from malnutrition, and are in urgent need of macronutrients and micronutrients due to a rapid growth rate. Consequently, monitoring and providing them with nutritional services, individually and collectively, is highly recommended.