Nutritional and micronutrient status of adolescent schoolgirls in eastern Sudan: A cross-sectional study

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Adolescents (individuals aged 10 to 19 years) make up approximately one fifth of the world’s population. Research on the nutritional status of adolescent girls is of paramount importance to health planners, as well as to practicing physicians. There is little published data on the nutritional status of adolescent girls in countries with few resources, including Sudan, where malnutrition is a major health problemn Objectives Course Objective Adolescents, especially girls, are susceptible to malnutrition and their diet must be adequate to support their very rapid growth and development. Currently, there is little published data on the nutritional state amongst adolescent girls in Sudan.. : A cross sectional study was conducted to assess the nutritional and micronutrient status of adolescent schoolgirls in eastern Sudan during the period of January-February 2015. Weight and height were measured using standard methods. Haemoglobin and ferritin levels were measured using blood samples, and blood films for malaria and stool samples for. : Twenty-five (13.7%) out of 183 girls were stunted. Seventy (38.3%) were thin; 17.5, 9.3 and 11.5% had mild, moderate and severe thinness, respectively. Only 10 (5.5%) and six (3.3%) girls were overweight and obese, respectively. The prevalence of anaemia was 77.0%. While there was no significant difference in the haemoglobin, ferritin, copper levels and thinness; thin children had significantl...