Undernutrition and its determinants among adolescent girls in low land area of Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Background Undernutrition is one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality among adolescent girls worldwide, especially in South-East Asia and Africa. Even though adolescence is a window of opportunity to break the intergenerational cycle of undernutrition, adolescent girls are a neglected group. The objective of this study was to assess the nutritional status and associated factors among adolescent girls in the Wolaita and Hadiya zones of Southern Ethiopia. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted, and a multistage random sampling method was used to select a sample of 843 adolescent girls. Anthropometric measurements were collected from all participants and entered in the WHO Anthro plus software for Z-score analysis. The data was analyzed using EPI-data 4.4.2 and SPSS version 21.0. The odds ratios for logistic regression along with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were generated. A P-value < 0.05 was declared as the level of statistical significance. Result Thinness (27.5%) and stunting (8.8%) are found to be public health problems in the study area. Age [AOR(adjusted odds ratio) (95% CI) = 2.91 (2.03–4.173)], large family size [AOR (95% CI) = 1.63(1.105–2.396)], low monthly income [AOR (95% CI) = 2.54(1.66–3.87)], not taking deworming tablets [AOR (95% CI) = 1.56(1.11–21)], low educational status of the father [AOR (95% CI) = 2.45(1.02–5.86)], the source of food for the family only from market [AOR (95% CI) = 5.14(2.1–12.8)], not visited by health extension workers [AOR (95% CI) = 1.72(1.7–2.4)], and not washing hand with soap before eating and after using the toilet [AOR (95% CI) = 2.25(1.079–4.675)] were positively associated with poor nutritional status of adolescent girls in the Wolaita and Hadiya zones, Southern Ethiopia. Conclusion Thinness and stunting were found to be high in the study area. Age, family size, monthly household income, regularly skipping meals, fathers’ educational status, visits by health extension workers, and nutrition services decision-making are the main predictors of thinness. Hand washing practice, visits by health extension workers, and nutrition services decision-making are the main predictors of stunting among adolescent girls. Multisectoral community-based, adolescent health and nutrition programs should be implemented.

Undernutrition and associated factors among rural adolescent girls in Daramalo district, Southern Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study

“…The current study also found 21.1% stunting prevalence. The nding was comparable with the study in Aseko district (20.2%) [18] and it was higher compared with a study in Somalia (9.7%) [23], a low land area of Southern Ethiopia (8.8%) [19], and Tanzania (18%) [20], but it was lower compared with study in Northwest Ethiopia (47.4%) [24], Northern Tigray, and West Bengal, India (54%) [21].…”

“…The nding from this study revealed that 12.6% (95%CI; 10.3%, 15.2%) of the respondents were thin. This prevalence was lower compared to study in Damota sore (19.5%) [13], Northern Tigray (58.3%) [16], Babile district (21.6%) [17], Aseko district (14.8%) [18], low land areas of southern Ethiopia (27.5%) [19],…”

“…This study shows that the odds of thinness was three times higher among adolescent girls living in households with ≥ 7 family members compared to those living in households with < 7 family members. The nding was supported by a study conducted in low land areas of southern Ethiopia [19]. The odds of stunting was also higher among participants from a large family.…”

Magnitude and Determinants of Under-Nutrition Among Late Adolescent Girls in East Africa: Evidence From Demographic and Health Surveys (2010–2016)

“…Similar findings were also observed in the previous studies report from secondary analysis of 35 SSA countries ( 42 ), systematic review, and meta-analysis conducted by Berhe, et al ( 12 ). Similarly, having a large family size was also found to be a significant predictor of undernutrition in late adolescent girls in specific study settings conducted elsewhere ( 36 , 43 , 44 ).…”

Trends and factors associated with thinness among late adolescent girls in Ethiopia: Multivariate decomposition and multilevel analysis

“…This study revealed that the wealth status of the respondents had a statistically significant association with thinness. This finding is supported by evidence from South and Southeast Asia (25), Ghana (33), and Southern Ethiopia (34). This might be because adolescent girls from households with middle and low wealth index had lower purchasing power which leads to the consumption of suboptimal quality and quantity of food (35).…”