Nutritional Satus and assocated factors Among In school Adolescents In chiro Town,Wast Hararge Oromia,2013

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a period of intense physical, psychosocial and cognitive development and the second to infancy at which highest rate of physical growth occur. So Adolescent need to have good quantity and quality nutrient to cope with this rapid growth and other health risk which increase nutritional demand. However there is limited study and attention for adolescent nutrition; especially in developing country where the demographic weight of adolescent is significant. Objective: The Objective of this study is to assess nutritional status and associated factors among in school adolescents in chiro town. Method and Material: Cross-sectional quantitative study design was employed from November 04- 13, 2013. Data were collected using structured questionnaires from 291 adolescent students. Anthropometric measurement (weight and height) was taken by trained nurses. Data were entered to Epidata Version 3.1 .Then the data was Analysed using SPSS version 16.0. Descriptive statistics was used to show the prevalence of nutritional status and other independent variable characteristic. Bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify predicatorsof nutritoinal status of adolecents by controlling the effect of possible confounders. Results: Out of 319 selected sample 291(91.2%) were participated in the study. This study revealed that 24.4% and 7.2% of adolescents were found to be underweight and stunted respectively. Socio-demographic factors like being early adolescents (10-14 years) [AOR=2.06, CI= 1.02, 4.16], male [AOR= 3.91 CI=1.7, 8.98], chewing chat [AOR=2.45 CI=1.07, 5.64], having fathers with no formal education [AOR=8.52 CI=2.055, 35.36] were assocaited with being underweight. Hand washing “sometimes”after toilet [AOR= 3.24 CI= 1.01, 10.37] was found to be predictor of stunting. Conclusion and Recommendation-The prevalence of underweight was high one out of three among adolescents but the prevalence of stunting was low one out of thirteen. Factrors associated with underweight were sex, age and chat chewing of adolescents, educational status of father and sex of household head.