How do they grow? A study of south‐eastern Nigerian adolescent girls

Abstract

This study assessed the nutritional status of Nigerian adolescent girls living in two areas of south-eastern Nigeria. A cross sectional survey was undertaken in a rural village in Ogoniland, and five secondary schools in Port Harcourt, south-eastern Nigeria. All (386) menarcheal girls aged 14-19 y living in the rural village, and a stratified cluster sample (845) of menarcheal girls aged 14-19 in the five urban schools were investigated. Mean heights and weights of rural girls were around -1 Z-score below the British reference median. 10.4% of rural and 4.7% of urban girls were stunted (< OR =2nd centile, British 1990 reference values). After calculating mean body mass index-for-age, various cut-off points for low body mass index were tested. At a cut-off of < OR =9th centile, 15.6% of rural and 8.0% of urban girls would be classified as thin. Girls with a haemoglobin <10.Og/dl were significantly more likely to have a low body mass index than those with haemoglobin values > OR =10.0 g/dl. More studies are needed to refine the definition and interpretation of low body mass index in adolescents.

A community based study of vitamin A and vitamin E status of adolescent girls living in the Shire valley, Southern Malawi

“…In this study tocopherol:cholesterol ratios below 2.2 were found more often in girls with a low mean body mass index-for-age, that is in girls who were thin or possibly, chronically energy de®cient (Brabin et al, 1997) Vitamin A and vitamin E status of adolescent girls G Fazio-Tirrozzo et al Figure 1 Vitamin A and E de®ciency and anaemia in relation to age. Vitamin A and vitamin E status of adolescent girls G Fazio-Tirrozzo et al (Table 3).…”

“…A large number of non-pregnant girls seen in this study were anaemic and de®cient in vitamins A and E. Although this could re¯ect the fact that the sample was small and self-selected, this seems unlikely given the even higher levels of anaemia and morbidity which were previously reported for pregnant adolescents from the same locality (Brabin et al, 1997). This suggests that nutritional de®cien-cies commonly occur before the ®rst pregnancy and that during pregnancy, nutrient levels are further diminished.…”

Anthropometric assessment of nutritional status in adolescent populations in humanitarian emergencies

“…The single maturational landmark that might easily be collected in the field is age of menarche. In populations where adolescents know their ages, age at menarche can generally be recalled by girls and women and has been measured successfully in many surveys (Brabin et al, 1997;Chaturvedi et al, 1994;Delgado & Hurtado, 1990;Leung et al, 1996;Riley et al, 1989;Samsudin, 1990;Simondon et al, 1997). However, the situation is different for boys, for whom no such easily assessed landmark exists.…”

“…In adolescence, chronic undernutrition also delays normal maturation (ACC=SCN, 1992;Ahmed et al, 1998;Brabin et al, 1997;Delgado & Hurtado, 1990;Dreizen et al, 1967;Kurz & Johnson-Welch, 1994;Singh, 1995). Although chronic undernutrition is an important and widespread problem (ACC=SCN, 2000) with multiple adverse health outcomes, it is not usually the highest nutritional priority in emergency situations.…”

Prevalence and severity of malnutrition and age at menarche; cross-sectional studies in adolescent schoolgirls in western Kenya

“…Although, results were not presented separately for adolescents, studies including adolescents show a trend towards higher height and weight-for-age with increasing age. Studies looking specifically at adolescent girls from the general population suggested a wide range of linear growth retardation ranging from 10 to 47%, with more stunting in the youngest (Brabin et al, 1997;Simondon et al, 1998).…”