ABSTRACT

A cross-sectional study was used to assess the dietary pattern, physical activity and anthropometric status of day secondary school adolescents in Ikwuano, L.G.A Abia state. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on socioeconomic characteristics of their parents, dietary pattern and physical activity pattern of the adolescents. Anthropometric measurements were taken, using standard methods and subsequently categorized using the WHO Anthro plus software. The data were analyzed using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. The findings reveal a majority ofrespondents are between 10- 14 years of age. (71.8%) of respondents parents were both civil servants. (90.4%) of respondents reported eating breakfast, while (9.6%) did not. Food frequency distribution of the respondents showed that majority (64.5%) of the respondents consumed cereals and grains daily, while 10.8% ofthem did not. The dietary diversity scores showed that 79.28% consumed 4-5 food groups which was moderate, while (12.74%) consumed less or 3 food groups which was low. A little less than half ofthe respondents (43.0%) did their vigorous activity in the last seven days, while (86.1%) engaged in moderate activity. Using WHO standard to calculate HAZ, BMIAZ AND WHR the result showed that (18.2%) of the respondents were Overweight, WHR result showed that (3.4% and 23%) of males and females were at risk, respectively. There was no significant relationship between anthropometric status and physical activity. In conclusion, majority ofthe students had good dietary pattern, as most of them ate 3 times daily and always had breakfast. The dietary pattern in turn also influenced their anthropometric status as a good number of them fell within the normal BMI category.