Assessment of nutritional status of in-school adolescents in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Adolescents are tomorrow's adult population, hence their health and well-being are crucial. The objective of this study was to determine the nutritional status of in-school adolescents in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted on 93 in-school adolescents attending a diabetes mellitus sensitisation and education programme, selected by simple random sampling (the ballot method) using a self-administered, semi-structured questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements were carried out on the subjects by trained researchers. Data were analysed using SPSS® software, version 17. Results: Study subjects comprised 29 males (31.2%) and 64 females (68.8), with an overall mean age of 15.67 (± 1.25) years. All of them were in senior grades of their secondary education. Approximately 90% of respondents' parents had attained at least secondary education. The television was the most popular source of health information for the study subjects (33.3%). Nearly a third of them were underweight (body mass index (BMI) < 18.5 kg/m 2)) and 7.6% of them were overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2). However, the prevalence of underweight was higher in the male respondents than in their female counterparts (41.4% vs. 23.4%, respectively). Statistically significant differences were also observed when the mean BMI and mean BMI percentiles for age and sex were compared (p < 0.05 in both instances). Conclusion: The study showed that malnutrition, and especially undernutrition, is still a problem in adolescents, with a higher prevalence in boys. Nutrition education in schools, and special programmes like the one attended by the study subjects, would help considerably in improving the health and well-being of the nation's adolescents; tomorrow's adult population.

A study on the prevalence of thinness and obesity in school going adolescent girls of Kashmir Valley

“…Omobuwa O et al in their study on in-school adolescents in Nigeria found that 7.6% of them were overweight or obese which was similar to the results of our study. 18 Mehta M et al and Sood A et al (Bangalore) in their study reported a prevalence of overweight 15.2% and 13.1%, respectively, which was much higher than our study. 19,20 It was observed that age, SES and residence had a significant association with the prevalence of overweight (p value 0.010, <0.001 and 0.001).…”

“…In a study conducted by Bhattacharyya H et al in Assam the prevalence of thinness (44.26%) was significantly higher among girls who came from families whose mother's were illiterate which is in concordance with the present study. 18 Contrary to this, Das D K et al in their study in West Bengal reported a significantly higher prevalence of thinness in adolescents whose mothers were literate. 16 The prevalence of over-weight in the present study was 7.20%.…”

Assessment of Dietary Habits and Nutritional Status of Adolescents in a Resource – Poor Environment in Nigeria

“…There is paucity of information as regards dietary habits and nutritional status of adolescents in Ekpoma, Edo State of Nigeria, partly because of this age-group's reputation for capriciousness [1]. Also, for a number of years in Nigeria, the health of adolescents has not been a major concern and hence research in this group has been limited because the adolescents are observed to be less susceptible to disease and suffer from fewer life-threatening ailments than children and the elderly [2]. In fact, adolescence is generally described as a period of relatively good health with low prevalence of infection and chronic diseases [3].…”

Dietary Patterns, Nutritional Knowledge and Status of Adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria.

“…This is consistent with the findings of a similar study in Ibadan, Nigeria where 89.2% and 94.6% of the mothers and fathers had at least secondary education. 25 Less than one third (31.0%) of the adolescents had good knowledge of balanced diet but the majority (76.1%) knew the common food sources of energy and protein. This agrees with a similar study in Abuja municipal area, wherein 34.8% of the adolescents had good knowledge of balanced diet.…”