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Dietary Habits and their Impact on the Physical Status of School Going Adolescents in Delhi: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: The dietary habits and food preferences in the adolescent age group can influence their physical growth. The importance of healthy eating habits cannot be ignored. Faulty eating habits among adolescents contribute towards undernutrition, overnutrition and micronutrient deficiency. Aim: To evaluate the dietary habits and nutritional status of school-going, urban adolescents. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire based cross-sectional observational study was conducted among 1600 adolescents from 10 government schools in Delhi between April 2018 and March 2019. The socio-demographic profile, anthropometric measurements and dietary habits using simplified dietary gap assessment tool was recorded. The nutritional status of the participants was categorised as per World Health Organisation- Body Mass Index (WHO-BMI) Z-score for adolescents. The data collected was analysed using the statistical analysis software Graph Pad version 5. Chi-square test was applied to assess the association between dietary habits and BMI status. Results: A total of 855 males (mean age 13±2 years) and 745 females (mean age 13.4±2 years) with age range between 10 and 19 years participated in the study. A total of 955 (59%) adolescents consumed milk or milk products, 655 (41%) consumed fruits, and 838 (52%) consumed green leafy vegetables in their daily dietary habits along with their staple diets. 1089 (68%) of adolescents were undernourished, out of which 328 (30%) skipped their regular meals. The Chi-square analysis revealed that consuming junk food (p=0.005) and buying eatables from street shops (p=0.0025) were significantly associated in adoloscents from the age group of 15-19 years. It was observed that male participants consumed milk and milk products more often than female participants (p<0.0001). Faulty dietary habits of skipping meals or eating junk food or buying eatables from street shop was associated with more number of participants under the obese/ overweight category (p<0.0001). Conclusion: The poor choice of dietary habits significantly affects the physical development among school-going adolescents. Study participants who belonged to the late adolescent age group had more tendencies to develop faulty dietary habits. The study will help to plan for nutritional supplementation and create awareness to develop healthy food choices among adolescents.