Abstract:
Background: Adolescence is individuals in the age groups of 10–19 years age. It is second most
physical growth rate taken place next to infants. In most developing countries including Ethiopia,
nutrition initiatives like first 1000 days have been focusing on only children and pregnant mothers
to halt intergenerational effect of malnutrition. However, addressing the nutritional needs of
adolescent girls is the right time to break the vicious cycle of intergenerational malnutrition. Few
journal studies were conducted to find out undernutrition and associated factors among adolescent
girls in Ethiopia general and in this study area particularly.
Objectives: To assess prevalence and factors associated with undernutrition among adolescent girls
attending high schools in rural and urban settings of Sorro District, Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia.
Methods: institution based comparative cross- sectional study was employed among 414 adolescent
girls attending high schools in rural and urban settings of Sorro District. Adolescent girls were
selected using multistage sampling technique. Data were collected by a structured questionnaire,
pretested, interviewer administered and anthropometric measurement. The study was conducted
from March 15 to April 15 2019. Data were entered into Epidata Version 3.1 and analyzed using
SPSS for windows version 20. Indices for assessing undernutrition were generated using WHO
Anthroplus version 1.0.4. The results of the descriptive statistics were expressed as percentages and
frequencies using tables and graphs. Associations between independent variables and dependent
variables were analyzed using bivariate and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses. Odds
ratio with 95% CI were used to determine association. A statistical significance was declared at p
value <0.05.
Results: Overall prevalence of stunting and thinness were 25.1% and 6.8%, respectively. The
prevalence of stunting was significantly higher among rural adolescent girls (30.4%) than urban
adolescent girls (19.8%). Likewise thinness was also higher among rural adolescent girls (8.7%)
than in urban areas (4.8%). On multivariate binary logistic regression model; stunting was
significantly associated with place of residence (AOR: 1.9; 95% CI: 1.8-2.94) and nutrition
knowledge (AOR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.07-2.76) whereas thinness was significantly associated with
households’ wealth tertile (AOR: 4.2; 95% CI: 1.13-15.49), source of drinking water (AOR: 2.3;
95% CI: 1.01-5.30), dietary diversity (AOR: 2.9; 95% CI: 1.28-6.92) and skipping breakfast (AOR:
3.9; 95% CI: 1.15-13.82).
Conclusion and Recommendation: the study revealed that prevalence of stunting was significantly
higher in rural areas than in urban area.The prevalence of thinness was higher in rural than urban
areas but it was not significant. Hadiya zone health department and Sorro District health offices
should design nutrition intervention which targets adolescent girls’ undernutrition by giving priority
for rural areas.
