Dietary Diversity And Anthropometric Status Of Adolescents In Federal Government Girl’s College Umuahia, Abia State.:- Mbah, Maureen C

ABSTRACT x Adequate nutrition is essential for the healthy growth and development of adolescents. It encompasses the intake of a variety offoods that meet the daily requirements for macro and micronutrients, which support physical growth, cognitive function, and immune health. Dietary diversity and anthropometry are commonly used indicators for assessing nutritional status in population-based nutrition research .The specific objectives ofthe study were: (1) to determine the socio-demographic and economic characteristics of respondents; (2) to assess dietary patterns using dietary diversity scores; (3) determine the nutritional status using anthropometric measurement and (4) determine the nutritional status using anthropometric measurement. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select adolescent students. A validated, structured questionnaire was used to gather data on dietary intake and anthropometric measurements. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 20.0. Descriptive statistics, including frequencies and percentages, were used to present findings. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results indicated that 71.7% of participants were aged 9-12 years, aligning with early adolescence. The majority were Christians (96.8%), predominantly ofIgbo ethnicity (82.5%). Most students (74.1%) lived with both parents in households of 4-6 members. A significant number of homes (46.2%) were constructed with bricks/blpcks, and 94.4% had access to improved sanitation, such as water closet facilities. Dietary diversity scores revealed that 73.3% ofparticipants had high dietary diversity, 23.1% had average scores, and 3.6% showed poor dietary diversity. Anthropometric findings showed that 62.2% were within the normal weight range, while 8.0% were underweight, 25.1% overweight, and 4.2% obese. The study concludes that dietary diversity is a strong predictor of nutritional adequacy and overall adolescent health. It recommends that policy makers collaborate with school authorities, health professionals, and food security stakeholders to promote nutrition education, food accessibility, and adolescent-focused dietary policies