Nutritional Status of Adolescent Girls of Urban Slums and The Impact of IEC on Their Nutritional Knowledge and Practices

Research question: What is the nutritional status of adolescent girls living in urban slums and methods to improve their nutritional knowledge and practices through Information Education and Communication (IEC). Objective: To assess the nutritional status and dietary intake of adolescent girls and study the impact of IEC programme on their nutritional knowledge and practices. Study design: After collection of the baseline data IEC intervention was carried out for six months and its impact was studied. Setting and participants: 2500 adolescent girls from urban registered slums located in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad Andhra Pradesh India. Statistical analysis: Proportions Z test. Results: Though the pattern of growth in adolescent girls was similar to that of NCHS standards their heights and weights at any given age were far below the standards and deficit increased with age. Iron deficiency anaemia was found to be the most common nutritional problem observed in them. After IEC intervention significant proportion of girls could correctly identify the foods rich in various important nutrients. A marked increase in the intake of finger millet or `Ragi was observed which is a very rich source of calcium as well as iron. Conclusions: The IEC intervention resulted in improvement of nutritional knowledge of adolescent girls as well as behavioural pattern as envisaged by better cooking methods and increase in the consumption of nutrient rich foods. (authors)