ABSTRACT
Diet plays a very important role in growth and development of adolescents, during which the development of healthy eating habits is of supreme importance. There is a dual burden of undernutrition and overnutrition in this age-group. The study assessed the food habits, food preferences, and dietary pattern of schoolgoing urban adolescents in Baroda, India. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in this study. A quantitative survey was carried out using a pre-tested self-administered structured questionnaire among 1,440 students from class 6 to 12 in 7 English medium and 23 Gujarati medium schools. Focus group discussions, 5 each with adolescent boys and girls, were held, along with 5 focus group discussions with teachers of Gujarati and English medium schools. Nearly 80% of adolescents had consumed regular food, like dal, rice, chapati, and vegetables, including green leafy vegetables. Nearly 50% of them had consumed chocolates, and about one-third consumed fast foods. Nearly 60% of adolescents had their breakfast daily while the remaining missed taking breakfast daily. Nearly one-third of adolescents were missing a meal once or twice a week. A large majority had consumed regular foods. However, more than half of them had consumed chocolates, soft drinks, and over one-third had taken fast foods.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To know the association between pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and multiparity. Study design: Case control study. Setting: Shree Sayaji General (SSG) Hospital, Government Medical College, Vadodara. Participants: Women attending Gynec Clinics and Curative Practice and General Practice (CPGP) OPD. Sample size: One hundred fifty cases and 150 controls. Statistical analysis: Chi-square test. Results: The odds ratio (OR) for PID with multiparity as risk factor was 0.69 with 95% confidence interval (CI) being 0.42-1.09. Among 143 cases multiparity was present in 63 cases (44.05), while in 150 controls it was in 80 (53.33%). The difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.141). But, the OR with untrained person as a risk factor for PID was 2.41 with 95% CI being 1.78-3.27. This suggests etiological fraction of 58.5% (CI 43.9-69.4%) among untrained persons. The delivery by untrained person was significantly higher in cases than in controls (p 0.00001). Conclusions: Present study did not show multiparity as risk factor but delivery conducted by untrained persons emerged as a risk factor.
ABSTRACT
Background: Weight comments are commonly received by adolescents, but the accuracy of the comments and their effects on weight misperception are unclear. Aims & Objective: To know the perceptions of adolescents about their health status, body image, height and weight and then to compare it with their actual (Body Mass Index) BMI status. Material and Methods: This was Cross sectional study and Qualitative survey carried out using a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire among 1440 (748 girls and 692 boys) students from classes 6-12 in 7 English medium and 23 Gujarati medium schools. Five focus group discussions were held each with adolescent boys and girls from both Gujarati and English medium schools. Results: Regarding their perception about their health status, nearly 65% of the boys and girls felt that they were healthy. While their perception about the appropriateness of their height and weight, nearly half of the boys and girls felt that they had appropriate height and weight, One-fourth of them perceived themselves to be underweight, while another fourth thought that they were obese. When adolescents’ perception of the appropriateness of height and weight was compared with their actual BMI, it was found that, 10 to 15% of them were underweight or undernourished while 25 to 30% of them were overweight or obese. Among those, having normal BMI, 59% of boys and 62% of girls felt that their height and weight was normal. Conclusion: There has been a need for addressing physical growth, particularly; height and weight need to be explained more scientifically and in depth.