Prevalence of Stunting and Thinness among School Going Early and Midadolescents of Idukki District in Rural Kerala: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Adolescence is a period characterised by dramatic changes both physically and mentally. Under nutrition is a growing concern worldwide especially in developing countries like India. It has both short-term and long term concerns. Aim: To estimate the prevalence of thinness and stunting among school going early and mid-adolescents of Idukki district in rural Kerala, India. Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional study which was conducted from June to October 2020 on 1005 subjects aged 10-16 years from four schools-two government and two public sector, selected by simple random sampling. Age group 10-13 years were grouped as early adolescents and 14-16 years were grouped as middle adolescents. After obtaining informed consent from the parents and school authorities, anthropometric measurements such as weight and height were recorded by standard technique. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated from height and weight measurements using the formula weight (kg)/ height2 (metre2 ). The values were then plotted on age specific World Health Organisation (WHO) charts for height and BMI. The degree of stunting and thinness was categorised according to the position of the plot. Data was entered into excel sheet and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 16.0. Statistical analysis was done using Chi-square test, to test the association between anthropometric data and age group and gender. A p-value <0.05 was taken as significant. Results: 84 (8.4%) adolescents were stunted with equal prevalence in early (n=38, 8.5%) and mid-adolescents (n=46, 8.2%). There was no difference in the prevalence of stunting in males (n=44, 8.9%) and females (n=40, 7.9%). The overall prevalence of thinness among adolescents was 23.7%. with more thinness in early adolescents (27.4%) than midadolescents (20.7%). It was also found that males were thinner than girls especially among middle adolescents. Conclusions: Adolescent undernutrition continues to be an important public health problem in India. Hence, it will be prudent to give high emphasis on nutrition education programmes for adolescents.