Prevalence and Knowledge on Anemia and Malnutrition among Early Adolescent Girls

Problem statement, Study to assess the prevalence and knowledge on anemia and malnutrition among early adolescent girls in selected rural community area, Kolar. Background The 11 to 19 year old age is called adolescence. This is the period of rapid change and maturation when the child grows into the adult. One of the main problems during this phase of growth is the inadequate calorie intake. Studies have shown that girls in rural areas take a mean of 1355K. Cals/day in the 13-15 years and 1292 K. Cals/day in the 16-18 years which is much below the recommended age-groups. The health status of an adolescent determines the health status in his/her adulthood. Aims/objective to assess the knowledge and prevalence of malnutrition and anemia among early adolescent girls. Material and methodology a descriptive survey approach was adopted for the study. Method of sampling was randomized with 60 in size. Data was collected by using structured knowledge questioner and prevalence of anemia by estimation of HB % and anthropometric measurement to assess the malnutrition. Result Regarding demographic variables 40 % samples were in the age group of 11 yrs. , 63.33 % of mothers were educated. Regarding level of knowledge 70 % of samples were having inadequate knowledge, 12 (20 %) of them were malnourished and 14 (23.33 %) of them were anemic. Conclusion The overall finding of the study reveals that early adolescent girls were having lack of knowledge regarding anemia and malnutrition, and prevalence of anemia and malnutrition is also high among this age group, hence there is a need to educate the adolescent girls regarding anemia and malnutrition to improve their knowledge and develop healthy life skills.