ABSTRACT
Adolescents are considered as a nutritionally vulnerable subgroup. A rapid growth rate combined with marginal nutrient intakes increases the risk of nutritional deficiencies in this population. Poor nutritional status in adolescence compounds the risk of adolescent pregnancy and it is an important determinant of health outcomes at a later stage of life. A knowledge of an healthy dietary pattern in adolescence is an Investment in Present and Future Health. The objective of this study was to Characterize the dietary pattern and Assess the Nutritional status of in-School Adolescents in Abeokuta South and Abeokuta North local Government Areas of Ogun State.
The study was descriptive cross-sectional in design. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 775 in-school adolescent boys and girls aged 10 -19 years in 10 public secondary schools each in Abeokuta South and North local Government Areas. Anthropometric measurements were taken using Standard Procedures, Socio demographic Data were obtained through a self- administered questionnaire while usual nutrient intakes were determined through a 24 hour dietary recall. Dietary pattern was determined by factor analysis of data obtained from the self administered food frequency questionnaire. Additional structured questions on eating habits were answered on a different questionnaire to serve as correlates of dietary pattern. Statistical analysis included descriptive, inferential and dimension reduction statistics.
More than one-third (35.4%) of the subjects were boys while 64.6% were girls. About half (50.3%) were in junior secondary school, while 49.7% were in senior secondary school. The boys and girls had a mean weight of 45.68 and 45.05 kg respectively, a mean height of 155.84 and 155.08 cm respectively and a mean BMI of 18.84 and 18.68 kg/m2 respectively. The Mean NAR for Energy, Carbohydrate and Protein were 0.83, 2.47 and 1.61 respectively while Mean NAR for Calcium, Folate, Zinc and Iron were 0.23, 1.14, 0.44 and 0.73 respectively. Factor analysis revealed 2 distinct dietary patterns labelled a “western” pattern highly loaded in Pastries, beverages, Dairy, Canned foods, Sugared drinks and Poultry and a “mixed” pattern which loaded highly in Cereals, Legumes, Roots and tubers, Fruits, Vegetables and Processed Cereals. Both patterns explained 38.18 and 31.46% of the variation of food intakes respectively. More than one-third (39.9%) of the subjects had irregular breakfast, 52.6% had irregular lunch and 19.7% had irregular dinner. Majority (90.3%) of the subjects snacks on a daily basis, 67.2% eats out or order food at varying degrees.
The prevalence of stunting for boys and girls were 10.7% and 9.5% respectively. The prevalence of underweight was 13.7% for boys and 16% for girls. The prevalence of overweight was 2.7% for boys and 3.8% for girls, while 2.7% of boys and 1.1% of girls were obese.
The “western” dietary pattern was significantly associated with snacking (p
