Dietary Behaviours among Adolescent Girls in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a time of rapid transition and complex experiences with society, defining the capacity of a person to reach adult life. Diet plays a crucial role in overall development of the child precisely female child as they will become the future mothers. The study objective is to assess the dietary pattern of the school adolescents in various region of the district. \nMethods: 869 school going adolescents 10-18 years from 20 schools in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala participated in this study and was distributed a questionnaire exploring the dietary habits using food frequency questionnaire along with socio demographic details. \nResult: Altogether, penurious diet patterns were observed, 64.6% were habituated to skip one meal in a day, 86.7% consumed junk food, 35.5% adolescents skipping breakfast, consumption of Green leafy vegetables was diminished, nearly two third of adolescents did not consumed any fruit once in a day. Most of the respondents depended on rice with one or two vegetables. \nConclusion: Lack of variety food intake in adolescents may vary due to numerous factors like availability, socio-economic status, parent education, accessibility .Dietary diversity score and dietary assessment needs to be calculated and there is a need of in depth study of nutrient consumption. \nHow to cite this article:George L, Sabitha N, Rehman R. Dietary Behaviours among Adolescent Girls in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala. Int J Preven Curat Comm Med 2020; 6(3): 1-7. \nDOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2454.325X.202011