Abstract:
Worldwide epidemic of overnutrition among adolescents is rising steeply. In Sri Lankan context, the highest prevalence of overnutrition was reported in 11-13 year adolescents in city of Colombo with co-existence of high rate of undernutrition. Studies conducted to find out the association between household food security status and overnutrition are lacking. Therefore, this study was conducted to find out the association between household food security status and nutritional status among 11-13 years. A cross sectional study was carried out at 12 randomly selected national and provincial schools in city of Colombo. A proportionate sample of 634 subjects was recruited using multistage stratified cluster sampling technique. Past 12 month household food security status was measured using USDA 18 item household food security/hunger survey module and household food security score was assessed. Height, weight and waist circumference were measured. Body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio were calculated. Z scores of Height-for-age and BMI-for-age were determined using WHO AnthroPlus software. Daily energy intake was assessed using a three day diet diary and level of physical activity was measured using PAQ-C questionnaire. Birth weight was extracted from child health development record (CHDR). Pubertal stage was determined using the Tanner stage. The association between household food security score and height-for-age Z score, BMI-for-age Z score and waist-to-height ratio were analyzed using partial correlation, after adjusting for confounders of level of physical activity, daily energy intake, birth weight, pubertal stage and age. Boys showed a weak negative (p = 0.029; r = -0.156) association between household food security score and height-for-age Z score and association was disappeared after adjusting for confounders (p>0.05). Girls did not show any association even after adjusting for confounders (p>0.05). Household food security score was weakly and inversely associated with BMI-for-age Z score in boys (p = 0.007; r = - 0.193), but not in girls (p>0.05). However, this association in boys was insignificant after adjusting for confounders (p>0.05). There was no association found between household food security score and BMI-for-age Z score in girls after controlling for confounders (p>0.05). Boys showed a negative weak (r = -0.152; p<0.05) association between household food security score and waist-to-height ratio and association was insignificant (p>0.05) after adjusting for confounders. Household food security score was not associated with waist to height ratio in girls (p>0.05) and an inverse weak association was appeared (p<0.05; r = -0.373), after controlling for confounders. Hence, household food security status is not associated with stunting, wasting, overweight and obesity in both boys and girls. Household food secure female adolescents tend to be more central obese while household food security status is not associated with central obesity in boys.
Aaudience Take Away Notes:
- The findings of this research will be useful in researchers and nutrition professionals to expand their knowledge on development of overnutrition and undernutrition in adolescents and this knowledge is useful in planning future researches and disseminating knowledge among nutrition professionals, students and community.
- Further, they will learn central obesity is a consequence of household food security and try to take necessary actions to target female adolescent girls in nutrition interventions to reduce burden of malnutrition.
- The researchers will be able to conduct more researches on this aspect and formulate new researches considering the findings of this research, nutritionists will be able to formulate nutrition interventions targeting household food secure female adolescents to reduce risk of central obesity, lecturers will be able to use this findings in teaching and policy makers can formulate policies in food security while minimizing the future risk of female adolescents becoming centrally obese.
- Further, findings of this research will be useful in increasing the efficiency of reducing adolescent obesity by targeting food secure female adolescents in addition to considering other obesity development factors.
