Factors associated with nutritional status among adolescents of Kathmandu metropolitan city: a comparative study between public and private schools

Abstract

Abstract:

Adolescence is a critical period of growth and development, second only to infancy in terms of rapid changes and nutritional needs. Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for several chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated with nutritional status among the adolescents of private and public schools of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. An analytical cross-sectional study was carried out among 293 adolescents from public (158) and private (135) schools. A simple random sampling was used for the selection of the schools and students. Anthropometric measurement was used to determine adolescents’ nutritional status and household measurements was used for the 24-hour recall diet. SPSS version 26 was applied to analyze the structured questionnaire data using the chi-square test, binary and multiple logistic regression.

Out of 293 participants, 2.4% were found severely thin, 14.7% thin, 61.1% normal, 17.1% overweight and 4.8% obese. Prevalence of overweight/obesity was higher in private schools than public school i.e. 22% and 12.7% respectively. Private school adolescents were statistically significant with overweight/obese (p=0.008) than public school adolescents. Dietary factors like intake of nuts (COR=2.031, 95% CI 1.014-4.065; p=0.045), processed/fast food (COR=2.094, CI 1.156-3.793; p=0.015) were significantly associated with overweight/obesity. Adolescents who had intake of eggs (AOR=3.704, 95% CI 1.174-11.688; p=0.026), protein (AOR=5.465, 95% CI 1.518-19.683; p=0.009), and calorie intake (AOR=2.431, 95% CI 1.096-5.391; p=0.029) were more likely to be overweight/obesity. Thus, it suggests a need for interventions targeting dietary habits esp. in private schools to address high prevalence of overweight/obesity among adolescents.