Abstract

Adolescence is a period of transition between childhood and adulthood. Nutritional requirements during this period increase to a greater extent. Adolescent girls significantly contribute towards the nutritional status of the community. The present study was undertaken in the Public Sector Schools of Rawalpindi. It was done to assess the nutritional status of adolescent girls age between 12-17 years from Grade 8 to Grade 10. A cross sectional study design was chosen in which seventy-eight samples were randomly selected. A Food Frequency Questionnaire method was used assess the overall nutrient intake. BMI based standards were applied to interpret the anthropometric data using weight and height. The following study revealed that out of 78 study subjects, only 38% were having normal body mass index while 53% were having the weight less than normal, 6.4% with more than normal BMI falling in the category of overweight and 1.2% with obesity. Other variables taken by the help of pre-designed questionnaires such as age, gender, monthly house hold income, medical condition, favorite food consumption, meal skipping, normal energy levels, sleep cycle, nutritional supplements intake and food frequency questionnaire. The cross tabs results revealed that significant relationship was found between the daily nutrient intake and the nutritional status. Overall majority of the girls have inadequate nutritional status representing the increased risk of further complications in future.