Assessment of Nutritional Status among Young Adults in Varanasi, India

Abstract

Malnutrition is one of the most important principal public health issues during all stages of life in the world that threats the progress and achievement of a variety of global health targets [1,2]. According to WHO report (2016) in India among young adults above 18 years old 23.6% are underweight 19.7% are overweight [3] .A cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine anthropometric profile and nutritional status based on body mass index (BMI) of young adults. Anthropometric profile including height, weight, BMI as well as waist and hip circumferences and waist-hip ratio (WHR) were measured. In the present study on the basis of WHO (2008) BMI classification for adults, it was found that 16.45% of males and 17.71% of females were underweight while 10.22% and 18.86% of males and females respectively were overweight. On the account of waist-hip ratio (WHR), majority of female respondents (38.86%) were at high health risk whereas higher proportion of males (71.11%) were at low health risk. Cereals, legumes and pulses, root and tubers, cooking oil and fats are the most common food groups used by the respondents in a daily routine while only 25.8 % and 26.2% of total participants daily consumed green leafy vegetables and fruit respectively. Nutrient intake including protein, fat, carbohydrate, fibre and energy were more among males as compared to females.