ABSTRACT

 The study assessed the dietary habit and anthropometric status of artisan adolescent male in Umuahaia North local government, Abia state, Nigeria. It specifically determined the socioeconomic status of artisan adolescent male, identified factors influencing their dietary habit, and determined their body composition by anthropometric measurement. 306 respondents were selected randomly. Primary method of data collection was used and data was analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) to analyze parameters like socio-economic data, BMI, MUAC, and dietary pattern. Chi square correlation was used to determine the relationship between dietary pattern and nutritional status of the results. Statistical package for social science (SPSS) for windows version 23 was used.The result revealed that 34.0% are between the age 10 to 13 years, whereas a little below half 43.5% are 14 to 16 years, 22.5% are 17 to 19 years. Majority 95.8% were Igbos, this may be due to the location of the study, while 2.9% were Hausa and 1.3% are others specify. The predominant religious groups among the Igbos are Christianity, therefore, it was found in the area Christians 95.8%, while 3.3% were Muslims, only 1.0% were of the traditional group.Their anthropometric status was assessed using BMI, and MUAC and the result shows that 20.3% according to their BMI classification were under weight, 44.1% were normal weight and 28.1% were obese.. Their MUAC revealed that majority (44.1%) were normal while 34.6% were at risk of cardiovascular disease, relationship between dietary habits ofthe respondents and their nutrition status revealed that ifthe dietary habits changes, the nutritional status increases or decreases. This may be due to intrinsic characteristics such as kind of food they eat. Conclusion: the results showed that anthropometric status of the respondents 20.3% according to their BMI classification were under weight, 44.1% were normal weight and 28.1% were obese. The relationship between datary habit and nutritional status revealed that all the selected variables considered had significant influence on the nutrition status of the adolescents.