TY - JOUR AU - Shahid, Afshan AU - Siddiqui, Farah Rashid AU - Bhatti, Mohammad Ayaz AU - Ahmed, Mahmood AU - Khan, Mohammad Wasif PY - 2010/03/05 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Assessment of Nutritional Status of Adolescent College Girls at Rawalpindi JF - Annals of King Edward Medical University JA - Annals KEMU VL - 15 IS - 1 SE - Articles DO - 10.21649/akemu.v15i1.24 UR - https://annalskemu.org/journal/index.php/annals/article/view/24 SP - 11 AB - <strong>Objectives:</strong> To assess the nutritional status of adolescent college girls by assessing the dietary intake in terms of carbohydrates,<br />proteins, Estimating the hemoglobin levels in the study group and studying the clinical signs of malnutrition with<br />special emphasis to vitamin A, iron and iodine deficiency.<br /><strong>Design of Study:</strong> A cross-sectional study.<br /><strong>Settings:</strong> Two Post-Graduate women colleges of Rawalpindi.<br /><strong>Study Duration: </strong>9 Months (From Jan 2006 to September 2006).<br />Materials and Methods: Nutritional status of 508 adolescent girls was assessed with a questionnaire, clinical examination<br />and biochemical estimation (hemoglobin). The data thus collected was analyzed in July 2006 on computer with the help of<br />Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Excel.<br /><strong>Results:</strong> Results revealed that 20%of girls were having BMI &lt;18.5, 77% above 18.5% and 3% were obese. 57.09% of the<br />girls had goiter out of which 52.96% had palpable goiter and 4.13% had visible goiter. Pallor conjunctiva was seen in 1%<br />girls. No clinical signs of Vitamin A deficiency were seen. Biochemical results indicated that 32.87% of the girls was suffering<br />from Iron deficiency anemia.<br /><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Large longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, regarding nutrient consumption, dietary habits and nutritional<br />intervention are required in the adolescent girls. These studies can be thought provoking for the policy maker at the<br />government level. Nutritional education and health promotion can be used as tool to improve the health status of the nation.<br /><strong>Key Words: </strong>Adolescent Health, Nutrition, Nutritional Assessment. ER -