Volume 12, Issue 1 (2024)
Health Educ Health Promot 2024, 12(1): 25-29 |
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Ateilah K, Aboussaleh Y, Bikri S. Anthropometric Evaluation of Nutritional Status in Urban Adolescents of Northwestern Morocco. Health Educ Health Promot 2024; 12 (1) :25-29
URL: http://hehp.modares.ac.ir/article-5-72640-en.html
URL: http://hehp.modares.ac.ir/article-5-72640-en.html
1- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco
Abstract: (368 Views)
Aims: This study aimed to assess different forms of malnutrition and highlight the relationship between nutritional status and the socio-economic conditions of adolescents at Idris Premier High School in the urban commune of Kenitra in Northwestern Morocco.
Instrument & Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in March 2020, involving 243 high school students aged 14 to 19 years. To achieve the research objectives, a questionnaire was developed, encompassing socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics, such as age, gender, household size, parents' occupations, parents' educational levels, and the student's activities. Nutritional status was evaluated using anthropometric indices, including height-for-age and body mass index. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05.
Findings: The findings indicated that 12.75% of high school students experienced stunting, 3.7% exhibited thinness, and obesity was infrequent. All three forms of malnutrition were more common in boys than in girls and worsened with age (p<0.05). Only height-for-age demonstrated a positive correlation with academic performance (p=0.072). No significant difference was observed between the other forms of malnutrition (weight-for-age and thinness) and the socio-economic conditions of adolescents.
Conclusion: Socio-economic conditions are not linked to the nutritional status of adolescents. An updated anthropometric assessment of the nutritional status globally and locally in this group of adolescents, in terms of references and data, is crucial to better understand their evolution and precisely target the determinants of malnutrition in adolescents.
Instrument & Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in March 2020, involving 243 high school students aged 14 to 19 years. To achieve the research objectives, a questionnaire was developed, encompassing socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics, such as age, gender, household size, parents' occupations, parents' educational levels, and the student's activities. Nutritional status was evaluated using anthropometric indices, including height-for-age and body mass index. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05.
Findings: The findings indicated that 12.75% of high school students experienced stunting, 3.7% exhibited thinness, and obesity was infrequent. All three forms of malnutrition were more common in boys than in girls and worsened with age (p<0.05). Only height-for-age demonstrated a positive correlation with academic performance (p=0.072). No significant difference was observed between the other forms of malnutrition (weight-for-age and thinness) and the socio-economic conditions of adolescents.
Conclusion: Socio-economic conditions are not linked to the nutritional status of adolescents. An updated anthropometric assessment of the nutritional status globally and locally in this group of adolescents, in terms of references and data, is crucial to better understand their evolution and precisely target the determinants of malnutrition in adolescents.
Keywords: Adolescents, Malnutrition, Anthropometric indices, Academic performance, Northwestern Morocco
Article Type: Original Research |
Subject:
Healthy Life Style
Received: 2023/11/25 | Accepted: 2023/12/30 | Published: 2024/01/26
Received: 2023/11/25 | Accepted: 2023/12/30 | Published: 2024/01/26
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