BACKGROUNDAdolescence is the important period of life when 35% of adult weight and 11-18% of adult height is acquired. But Adolescent girls (AGs) are particularly at high risk of malnutrition because of gender discrimination in distribution of, and access to, food within the family. Objective-To assess the prevalence of stunting and thinness among AGs in slums of Dibrugarh district of Assam and the factors influencing. MATERIALS AND METHODSA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in slums of Dibrugarh town of Assam among AGs between 10-19 years. Sample size was calculated to be 135. Two stage sampling was carried out. Firstly, out of 10 registered slums, 5 were selected randomly. Sample was divided proportionately between the 5 slums based on population. In second stage, AGs from each slum were selected by consecutive sampling. Nutritional status was determined using BMI and Height for age using WHO standard. RESULTSPrevalence of thinness among AGs was 28.89% and stunting 42.2%. Thinness was found to be significantly associated with educational qualification of father (p=0.045) and educational qualification of mother of AG (p=0.006). CONCLUSIONThinness and stunting among AGs in slums of Dibrugarh town was 28.89% and 42.2% respectively.

BACKGROUNDEarly or timely initiation of breastfeeding, specifically within 1 hour of birth, refers to the best practice recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). There is growing evidence of the significant impact of early initiation of breastfeeding, preferably within the first hour after birth, on reducing overall neonatal mortality. The present study has been undertaken with an objective to study the current prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding in Dibrugarh district, Assam, India and to assess the various factors influencing early initiation of breastfeeding. MATERIALS AND METHODSThe present study was a community-based cross-sectional study conducted among 354 mothers having children up to 1 year of age from June 2015 to May 2016. Multistage sampling was used to select mothers for the study. A pre-designed and pre-tested schedule was used to collect information from the study participants. Study population was described using proportion, mean and standard deviation. Data was analysed using chi-square test and Fisher exact test. RESULTSA total of 354 study participants with a mean age of 23.34 ± 3.8 years participated in the current study in which 63.84% of the study participants had initiated breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth. Among the factors assessed statistically significant association was found with socioeconomic class (p=0.006) and place of delivery (p=0.003). CONCLUSIONFrom the present study, it was observed that the early initiation of breastfeeding was either comparable or well above the studies conducted in various study areas in our country. To further improve the breastfeeding practices, counselling on proper breastfeeding practices should be provided to all the pregnant and lactating women during the antenatal visits, postnatal visits and immunisation sessions.