Assessment of health parameters in adolescents: Dept. of PG Studies in FSN (M.Sc)-2019

Assessment of health parameters in adolescents was done by the students of III semester of Department of P.G. Studies in Food Science and Nutrition on 12th September 2019. The activity was conducted in Besant PU College , Mangaluru.
Target group: The target age group selected was 16-18 years. 
Assessment: The nutritional assessment of the adolescents of age group 16-18 years was done by anthropometric measurements, clinical signs detection and dietary assessment. The anthropometric measurements that were used are:
•Height measurement
•Weight measurement
•Hip and waist measurement
In clinical sign analysis the parts of the body such as hair, face, eyes, lips, tongue, teeth, gums, were examined to see if any abnormalities were present. In order to interpret the physical activity level of the individuals, their daily physical activity was recorded and they were categorized into sedentary, moderate or heavy workers. 
The dietary assessment was carried out by obtaining details about their dietary intake pattern using frequency of the food groups consumed and 24-hour diet recall. Based on the calculations their nutritional intake was interpreted. 
Interpretation: The results obtained after the assessment were statistically analysed. It was found that of adolescents only 10% of population was consuming adequate diet whereas majority of population i.e., about 90% were facing inadequacy.  20% of the adolescents were getting adequate calories whereas 80% had inadequacy. It was observed that girls were more malnourished than boys.  Though the nutrient was intact, the eating pattern was different in boys and girls. The diet of girls had more of fat and carbohydrates whereas protein was less, it was vice-versa in case of boys.
Outcome: The study conducted showed that the adolescents due to consumption of junk foods were at deficiency of nutrients and consumed imbalanced diet.