Abstract:
Adolescence is a period of rapid growth and development, making adequate nutrition
essential for physical, cognitive, and emotional health. The nutritional status of adolescents
is a critical indicator of their overall health and development. This study aimed to determine
the nutritional status of late adolescents (17-19 years) of Kopay Medical Officer of Health
area, Jaffna district. A multistage cluster sampling was used. Measurements of height,
weight, Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC), waist circumference (WC), and hip
circumference (HC) were taken. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to
gather the socio-demographic background of the participants. Out of the total 70 adolescents,
32 were males(45.7%). The mean ages of the male and female adolescents were 17.73 (+0.8)
and 18.35 (+ 0.7) years respectively. 38.6% (n=27) of adolescents were underweight and
15.8% (n=6) were overweight or obese based on the Body Mass Index (BMI) for age. Mean
WC, HC and waist-hip ratio (WHR) in males and females were 72.7 (+8.8) and 72.5 (+8.2);
90.5 (+7.6); 89.9 (+6.6) and 0.8 (+0.06) and 0.8 (+0.05) respectively. Prevalence of
abdominal obesity was found in 6.25% of males and 5.25% of females based on WHR and
WC. Malnutrition in terms of MUAC was found in 6.3% of males and 5.3% of females. The
prevalence of underweight was higher (48%) (n=13) among adolescents with family income
below Rs 10,000.00. The study revealed that the prevalence of underweight and overweight
among the adolescents (17-19 years) in the Kopay MOH area where the prevalence of
overweight and obesity among adolescents in the study was lower compared to the
prevalence of underweight. It underscores the need to encourage the frequent monitoring of
the nutritional status among adolescents. The study adds region-specific knowledge to the
field of adolescent nutrition regarding the dual burden of malnutrition and the socioeconomic factors influencing it.
