Assessment of Nutritional Status among Adolescent Rural Females
Dr. T. Rajini Samuel M.D1*, Dr. Balaji Rajagopalan M.D2, Ms. Nathani Tejaswi3
Citation : Dr. T. Rajini Samuel M.D, Dr. Balaji Rajagopalan M.D , Ms. Nathani Tejaswi, Assessment of Nutritional Status among Adolescent Rural Females International Journal of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine 2019, 5(1) : 17-22.
Adolescence is a transitional period from Childhood to Adulthood, so the nutritional requirement is higher during this period. Anaemia an indicator of poor nutrition and health continues to be a major public health problem worldwide. In this current study, 100 adolescent rural females (in the age groups 10-19 years) were selected and their body mass index was calculated. The haematological indices like RBC, Hb, PCV, MCV, MCH and MCHC levels were estimated from the collected venous blood sample using standard automated counter. Based on their Body Mass Index (BMI) values the 100 individuals were classified into 3 groups namely low BMI, normal BMI and high BMI groups. Similarly, the 100 individuals were classified into 3 different age groups like 10-13 years of age, 14- 17 years of age and 18- 19 years of age. The individuals were classified based on the haemoglobin values into normal, mild anaemia, moderate anaemia and severe anaemia. One-way ANOVA statistical analysis test was applied and found that the prevalence of anaemia in the 3 different BMI and age groups were not statistically significant for p value < 0.05. The prevalence of anaemia is seen irrespective of the age groups and body mass index. The total number of anaemic patients is 45% which includes mild (32%), moderate (12%) and severe anaemic (1%). The study concludes that anaemia is more common in adolescent rural females so early diagnosis, proper treatment, health education and social awareness about anaemia are necessary