Nutritional Status of Adolescent Boys and Girls at Hatiya Island in Bangladesh

Abstract

The primary aim of the study was to assess the nutritional status of adolescents at rural area of Hatiya Island under Noakhali district, Bangladesh. An institutional based cross sectional study was carried out in the study. Three hundred and fifty-eight adolescents comprising 188 boys and 170 girls from three High school of Hatiya Island participated in this study. A pre-prepared questionnaire was used to find out the association among various factors with nutritional status. Percentile of Body Mass Index (BMI) for age, Z score of BMI for age, Height for age and BMI classification for Asian population were used to analyze the nutritional status of adolescents. The mean BMI of the study population was 18.30 ± 2.35 kg/m². Taking percentile classification of BMI for age into account, 19.8% were found thin, 77.1% normal, 2.5% overweight and 0.6% obese. In Z. score classification of BMI for age, 12.3% were found thin, 27.1% mild thin, 57.5% normal, 2.58% overweight and 0.3% obese. We also found 58.7% underweight, 37.4% normal, 3.9% overweight in the case of World Health Organization (WHO) BMI classification for Asian population. Moreover, the present study found 11.2% stunted adolescents on the island. No significant difference (p>0.05) was observed between BMI percentile and other associated factors except for mother's occupation. Different criteria of BMI demonstrated the level of undernutrition at different levels. Overall, the adolescents in that island were found to be at risk of malnutrition. Hence, nutritional awareness programme needs to be designed and implemented in the study area to improve the situation.