ISSN : 2663-2187

Double burden of malnutrition among young adult female (18-25 years) of West Bengal, India

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Nirmalya Kumar Sinha1,2, Rajkumar Maiti3 , Subhajit Mahanty4 , Juthika Bhunia2 , Surajit Majumdar4 , Saidur Rahaman5 , Rama Das6*
» doi: 10.48047/AFJBS.6.5.2024.6064-6076

Abstract

Globally, malnutrition affects approximately one-third of the population, manifesting in various forms of undernutrition and overnutrition. This issue is particularly prevalent in developing countries, posing significant health concerns for female. To address this, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the nutritional status and related factors among female in Paschim Medinipur District and North 24 Pargana District of West Bengal, India. This cross-sectional study was conducted involving 337 females selected through a simple random sampling technique with proportional allocation. Data collection utilized a self-administered questionnaire. Nutritional status was determined based on the World Health Organization (WHO) cut off points for underweight and overweight. Statistical significance was set at a p<0.05. The study revealed that 16.91% of participants were underweight and 17.80% were classified as overweight or obesity. A significant association (χ 2=28.400; p<0.01) was noted between monthly family income (MFI) group and nutritional status among the participants. The BMI of the participants were significantly different (F= 5.791; p<0.001) in varied MFI group. It was observed that age of the participants was significantly correlated with weight (r=0.360; p<0.01), height (r=0.294; p<0.01) and BMI (r=0.257; p<0.01). The present study clearly documented that age of the female and family income had significant influence on the nutritional status of the young adult female and more than one-third of participants were suffering from double burden of malnutrition.

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