ASSESSMENT OF NUTRITIONAL AND PUBERTAL DEVELOPMENT STATUS IN ADOLESCENT GIRLS OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL OF DEHRADUN AND TO ASSESS THEIR CORRELATION

Dr. Rashmi Singla*

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Adolescence is a transition from childhood to adulthood. It is a stage where pubertal changes occur in both boys and girls. Pubertal changes in girls include growth of breasts, pubic hair & start of menstruation along with rapid growth in terms of height &weight. Objectives: To study the pubertal development and its correlation with nutrition status in girl students of Dehradun. Materials and Method—A cross sectional study of 100 adolescent girls of 12-18 years age group of an intermediate school was done. Data analyses were done by finding out results in terms of percentage & cumulative percentage with respect to class, age, weight, height and BMI. Result: Body mass index was normal in 62%, high in 8% and low in 30% of students. Pallor was found in 23% of girls. The pubertal events were characterized by breast changes in 73% and pubic hair in 76% of students. 60% of the girls attained menarche by the age of 13 while mostly the age limit to attain menarche was 15 years. Conclusion: Pallor, under nutrition and over nutrition were nutritional problems. On correlation of pubertal events with nutritional status, those with high BMI attained puberty earlier and those with low BMI later. The incidence of pallor was more in students who had attained menarche.

Keywords: Adolescence, pubertal events, nutrition.