Adolescent Macro-Nutrition and Micro-Nutrition

                            http://www.mathewsopenaccess.com/nutrition-articlesinpress.html

Adolescence is a crucial position in the life of human beings. Nutritional demand reaches peak in this period. After go through and critically review we found malnutrition rate among adolescent is high. They have both macronutrient and micronutrient deficiency. Behavioral risk factors and peer group pressure have strong influence on food choices. Obvious difference was observed in urban, periurban and rural area. More large scale or depth study can be conducted to get recent picture.

Adolescence is a significant period of life. Actually it is a transitional period from puberty to adulthood. Most of the physical growth occurs in this time period. Healthy and nutritious eating during adolescence is particularly important as body changes during this time affect an individual’s nutritional and dietary needs. Adolescents are becoming more independent and making many food decisions on their own. In urban area they are prone to take fast, junk and energy dense food. Many adolescents experience a growth spurt and an increase in appetite and need healthy foods to meet their growth needs. Adolescents tend to eat more meals away from home than younger children. Peer group pressure is an important determinant of adolescent nutrition. Meal convenience is important to many adolescents and they may be eating too much of the wrong types of food, like soft drinks, fast-food, or processed foods. Also, a common concern of many adolescents is dieting. Girls may feel pressure from peers to be thin and to limit what they eat. This review is an attempt to explore more on adolescent nutrition.

The United Nations’ Sub Committee on Nutrition meeting held in Oslo in 1998 concluded that more data on health and nutrition of school age children are needed to assess their scale of problem. It also believed that the scale of nutritional problems may have been previously under estimated. Traditionally, the main health indicator used by health planners has been mortality rates. Adolescents have the lowest mortality among the different age groups and have therefore received low priority. However, recent studies have shown that the prevalence of malnutrition and anemia is high in these age groups. The recent trend of recognizing adolescent girls as a separate as well as the crucial target group is heartening. Yet, sustained efforts are needed at the national level not only to develop comprehensive and innovative programmes for this segment of our population but also ensure their effective implementation. It is expected that such a holistic approach for the development of adolescent girls will gradually improve their nutritional status as well as enhance their nutrition/health knowledge and social awareness. Equipped with skills for income generation, these girls will be empowered to make decisions regarding themselves and their family, especially the children.