Nutritional Status of Adolescent Girls Living in Southwest of Ethiopia

Malnutrition in adolescent is a major public health problem in the world, especially in developing countries, which is responsible for bone mass disability and affects their ability to learn and work at maximum productivity. A cross sectional study design was employed from April to May, 2014 to assess nutritional status of adolescent girls and determinant factors at Ingibi High School which is found in Bedelle town, Illubabor Zone, Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select study subject. Pretested and structured questionnaires were used to collect the data. Anthropometric measurements were used to measure mid upper arm circumference, weight and height of the study participants. A total of 211 adolescent girls were enrolled in the present study. The prevalence of underweight was 28% by having body mass index less than 18.5kg/m2 and 5.2% were at risk of developing obesity by having body mass index >=25 kg/m2. According to their mid upper arm circumference, 21.3% were moderately acute malnourished. The nutritional status of adolescent girls were significantly associated with place of residence (P=0.035), usual diet skipped (P=0.000), frequency of meal per day (P=0.000), history of diarrheal disease in the last two weeks (P=0.000) and family size (P=0.000). In this study, undernutrition was the major problem among adolescent girls in study area. Thus, nutrition education and interventions should be done by considering the potential associated risk factors. Keywords: Nutritional Status, Adolescent Girls, Body Mass Index, Bedelle, Ethiopi