The Magnitude of Under-Nutrition and Associated Factors Among School-Going Adolescents in Agra, Uttar Pradesh

Background: Despite great advances and progress during recent years, under-nutrition remains important public health problem in India. Thinness is better indicator for under-nutrition than under-weight among adolescents and need to be studied in details. The objective is to find the magnitude of thinness and associated factors among school-going adolescents in Agra. Material and Methods: The study was conducted among 480 students aged 10-19 years which were selected through multistage random sampling across selected government and private schools in Agra. Cross-sectional surveys were conducted and the WHO’s BMI-for-age criteria was used to classify subjects into thin and severe thin category. Appropriate statistical tests were applied for the analysis. Results: 12.50% of school-going adolescents in Agra city were thin while another 10% were severely thin. No statistically significant difference in the proportion of thinness was observed on the basis of age, sex, and class of study, whereas type of school, socio-economic class and mother’s education were significantly associated with thinness among study subjects. Life style factors like involvement in moderate to vigorous physical activity daily, mode of transport to school and screen time; and dietary factors like number of meals per day, regularity of breakfast, amount of fruits & vegetables eaten per day, and consumption of cold drinks/beverages were found to have a significant association with thinness among school-going adolescents in Agra city. Conclusion: Dietary and life-style factors, which were significantly associated with thinness among school-going adolescents, need special attention and appropriate advice should be given to sufferers during routine school health services visit.

Keywords: Under-nutrition, life-style, dietary habits, BMI-for-age, thin, severe thinness.