One in three adolescent schoolgirls in urban northwest Ethiopia is stunted

Abstract

BackgroundPoor nutritional status of adolescent girls has a negative effect on the next generation as undernourished adolescents enter pregnancy with poor nutrient reserve. However, there is scarcity of evidence showing the burden of stunting among adolescent girls in Ethiopia. Therefore, the objective of this study aimed to assess prevalence of stunting and associated factors among school adolescent girls in Gondar City Administration, northwest Ethiopia.MethodsCross-sectional study was conducted from March to April, 2017. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select812 school adolescent girls. World Health Organization Anthro-plus software was used to analyze anthropometric data into Height for Age Z-score. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was employed to identify the factors associated with stunting. Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval was used to show the strength of association, while a P-value< 0.05 of was used to declare the significance of association.ResultsThe overall prevalence of stunting among adolescent girls was 33.1% (95% CI: 29.9, 36.5). Middle age of adolescence (AOR = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.15, 0.34), unsatisfactory media exposure (AOR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.01, 2.84) and poor mother’s education (AOR = 2.84, 95% CI: 1.07, 7.94) were significantly associated with stunting.ConclusionsOne-third of adolescent girls are stunted in Gondar City which suggests the serious public health importance of the problem. Enhancing mother’s education and media exposure are critical to address the high burden of stunting.

Household food insecurity predisposes to undiversified diet in northwest Ethiopia: finding from the baseline survey of nutrition project, 2016

“…In contrast, the reported prevalence of adequate dietary diversity was lower than earlier studies local studies in Ethiopia; Amhara Regional State (45%) and Gurage Zone, Southwest Ethiopia 26.8% [16]. Moreover, considerably high proportion of diversified diet reported urban areas of Ethiopia, specifically Gondar (75.5%) [17], Adama (54%) [18], Jimma (38.7%) [19], and Goba (45.3%) city administrations [20]. These variations in diversified diet consumption could be attributed to the characteristics of the study participants and study setting.…”

“…The high prevalence of inadequate dietary diversity in this study suggested that 85.5% of adolescent girls had poor micronutrient intake which ultimately increases their risk developing micronutrient deficiency. Adequate micronutrient (nutrient intake in general) is very critical in adolescence as it is a period of menarche and achieving substantial overall growth [11, 14]. In spite of this fact, the current finding necessitated giving critical attention to adolescent girls to lift them from the high risk of impaired growth and development, including delayed menarche and other reproductive performance measures [15].…”

“…Despite intensifying efforts to improve adolescent’s dietary diversity and to prevent nutritional problems and its related consequences, the level of diversified diet and its barriers are not well-investigated in Ethiopia. Some available studies were conducted in urban settings which limits the representativeness of the finding [11]. Therefore, our study aimed to assess dietary diversity and associated factors among adolescent girls in Dabat Health and Demography Surveillance System (HDSS) site by addressing the above limitations.…”

Pregnancy Readiness in Married Female Adolescents from Different Ethnic Groups in Probolinggo District, Indonesia

“…A study conducted in the Northwest Ethiopia discovers a close relationship between poor nutritional status in adolescents and poor education levels of their mothers. Mothers with low education level were 2.84 times more likely to have stunted or short children than mothers with higher education level (34). Similarly, another study in West Java, Indonesia foundmothers with lower education level were 1.19 times more likely to have short children compared to mothers with higher education level (35).…”

A School-Based Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Nutrition Behavior Change Communication Interventions in Improving Nutritional Status and Academic Performance of Schoolchildren in South Ethiopia: Study Protocol

“…A school based crosssectional study in Northwest Ethiopia had revealed the overall prevalence of stunting among adolescent girls was 33.1%. Middle age of adolescence, unsatisfactory media exposure and poor mother's education were significantly associated with stunting [14,15].…”