Title of article :
Nutritional Status, Dietary Habits and Sanitation Practices of Adolescent Girls in Sunamganj District of Bangladesh
Author/Authors :
Razzak, Abdur Bangladesh Institute of Research and Training on Applied Nutrition, Regional Office, Sunamganj, Sylhet, Bangladesh , Saha, Preyam Department of Food Engineering and Tea Technology - Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh , Moazzem, Shakir Department of Food Engineering and Tea Technology - Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh , Belal, Md Department of Food Engineering and Tea Technology - Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh , Raza, Amin Department of Food Engineering and Tea Technology - Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh , Rani Roy, Keya Department of Food Engineering and Tea Technology - Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh , Haider, Ali Department of Rehabilitation - Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, Farmgate, Dhaka , Numan, Oliullah Bangladesh Institute of Research and Training on Applied Nutrition, Regional Office, Sunamganj, Sylhet, Bangladesh , Abul Kalam, Kazi Bangladesh Institute of Research and Training on Applied Nutrition, Regional Office, Sunamganj, Sylhet, Bangladesh , Zaman, Wahidu Department of Food Engineering and Tea Technology - Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh
Abstract :
Background: Problems related to nutrition and personal hygiene are
widespread among adolescent Bangladeshi girls. This study assessed the
nutritional status, dietary habits, and sanitation practices of adolescent
girls of Sunamganj District in Bangladesh.
Methods: Totally, 380 adolescent 11-18-year-old girls from 4 different
schools and madrasas of Sunamganj District in Bangladesh were randomly
enrolled. A structured questionnaire and standard anthropometric
methods were used to collect the data.
Results: Totally, 4.2%, 26.6%, 1.3%, 7.8%, 7.5%, 3.2% and 20.1% of girls
were ‘severely stunted’, ‘stunted’, ‘obese’, ‘overweight’, ‘thin’, ‘severely
thin’ and ‘in the risk of being thinness’, respectively. Most of girls came
from humble socio-economic backgrounds and over two-thirds of their
parents were ‘below primary’ or ‘up to primary’ educational level.
Regarding nutritional knowledge, 32.8% of girls’ performance was ‘poor’,
whereas 55.5% were ‘average’. The Individual Dietary Diversity (IDD)
of 33.8%, 23.4%, and 42.9% of girls were ‘poor’, ‘medium’, and ‘high’,
respectively. The Food Consumption Score (FCS) of 0.6%, 11.7%, and
87.7% of girls fell within ‘poor’, ‘borderline’, and ‘acceptable’ categories,
respectively. Regarding sanitation practices during the menstrual period,
26.9%, 1.9%, 17.9%, and 39.9% of girls used ‘old clothes’, ‘tissue papers’,
‘new clothes’, and ‘napkin pads’, respectively, while 86%, 29.5%, and
80.2% of girls habitually washed their hands with soap ‘after excretion’,
‘before preparing food’ and ‘before eating meals’, respectively.
Conclusion: High percentages of girls were still undernourished because
of their lower socio-economic conditions and due to lack of knowledge
and awareness on personal hygiene.
Keywords :
Bangladesh , Nutrition , Diet , Sanitation , Hygiene
Journal title :
International Journal of Nutrition Sciences
