Malnutrition and its Associated Factors among Slum Living Adolescents in Uttar Pradesh, India

Satish Kumar Chauhan, Himanshu Chaurasiya, Murali Dhar

Abstract


Malnutrition is one of the major public health problems worldwide. Adolescence is known to be a second opportunity for growth as it facilitates catch-up growth for children experiencing nutritional deficits in their early life. The present paper examines the prevalence and risk factors of nutritional status among adolescents (12-19) living in the slums of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, using a cross-sectional study of 590 sample households in 2015. As a part of this investigation, adolescents’ underweight and stunting status were examined to determine nutritional status using the WHO growth reference. This study performed bivariate analyses to elucidate differentials in nutritional status and fitted logistic regression models to examine the effect of different socio-economic factors on the likelihood of an adolescent’s malnutrition status. About 46 per cent of the adolescents exhibited stunted growth and 10 per cent were severely stunted. About one-fourth of the respondents were underweight and 7 per cent were severely underweight. Reinforcing the existing public health programmes is critical for enhancing the nutritional level among adolescents. Further, school, community and media-based programmes need to become effective platforms to reach adolescents at a stage in their lives when lifelong nutrition patterns are formed.


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