Assessment of health parameters in adolescents (age group 17-19 years): Dept. of PG Studies in FSN (M.Sc)-2022

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 21st February 2022. The activity was conducted in Besant PU College, Mangalore.

Target group

The target age group selected was 17-19 years girls.

Assessment

The nutritional assessment of the adolescent girls of age group 17-19 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 whole of the population was consuming inadequate diet. In terms of protein intake about 90% of the girls were facing inadequacy and only 10% of them consumed adequate protein.

Outcome

The study conducted showed that the adolescents due to consumption of junk foods were at deficiency of nutrients and consumed imbalanced diet.