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Determinants of Nutritional Status Among School Girls in Chittagong Metropolitan Area

Md Abdul Karim
Department of Statistics, University of Chittagong, Chittagong - 4331, Bangladesh

Jesmin Akter
Department of Statistics, University of Chittagong, Chittagong - 4331, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

This study aims to investigate the determinants of nutritional status (BMI) of schoolgirls, selected randomly from the schools of Chittagong metropolitan area because good nutritional status is a prerequisite for good health, fertility and national productivity. The results of this study show that more than one-third (38.6%) school girls belong to underweight, 47.9% normal and 13.5% overweight. The overall mean BMI of the selected girls is found 20.03±4.06 kg/m² with considerable variations by their background characteristics. The coefficient of variation (20.27%) indicates that there exists extreme heterogeneity in BMI of the respondents. Co-efficient of skewness (ß₁=0.85) and excess of kurtosis (y₂=1.05) reflect that the distribution of BMI is positively skewed and leptokurtic. The mean BMI is found relatively high among the respondents living in the metropolitan area (21.18 kg/m²). The highest mean BMI is found among the girls belong to high family income group (21.62 kg/m²) and low (18.69 kg/m²) in lower family income group. Bivariate analysis indicates that religion, place of origin, place of residence, respondents’ education, arm circumference, fathers and mothers education and occupation, family income, family size, sibling size, skipping and cycling, duration of sporting activity and sleeping, and food intake are found to have a significant association with nutritional status of the girls. The study also shows that BMI is significantly positively correlated with family income and negatively with the duration of sporting activities. Multinomial logistic regression analysis illustrates that place of residence, arm circumference, mothers’ occupation, duration of sleeping and food intake is found significant predictors of BMI.

Keywords: School girls, Food intake, BMI, overweight, Chi-square test, Multicollinearity, Multinomial logistic regression analysis

Location: Chittagong metropolitan area, Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Food Safety and Security

Commodity: Nutrition

Objectives:

The main goal of this research study is to identify the important predictors of nutritional status among school girls using biological and social constructs. However, based on the purpose and its importance, the specific objectives of this research work are as follows: i) To compute the overall mean BMI among selected school girls in Chittagong metropolitan area along with differentials by background characteristics; ii) To investigate the socio-economic and demographic covariates and their implications on nutritional status (BMI) and; iii) Finally, to recommend some suitable policies for better nutritional status of the students for better reproductive health (RH) in future because RH is a human right stated in international law.

Methodology:

First of all, descriptive statistics of BMI are computed to compare the levels, variability and shape characteristics by some selected background characteristics of the respondents. To observe the linear relationship and mean rate of change of BMI by the change of some selected quantitative explanatory variables, simple correlation and regression analyses are employed. To investigate the association between nutritional status and explanatory variables, contingency tables have been constructed along with chi-square test statistics and level of significance. To assess the multicollinearity problem among independent variables, Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) has been computed. To identify the independent effect of the factors on BMI, multinomial logistic regression has been employed considering the variables found significant in bivariate analysis because the dependent variable is trichotomous type. In addition, to identifying the influencing factors of nutritional status of selected school girls in Chittagong, a conceptual framework has been designed and presented below for understanding the factors at a glance. One of the most widely used inexpensive, non-invasive and universally applicable measures of nutritional status is body mass index (BMI). The BMI was invented by Adolphe Quetelet between 1830 and 1850. BMI is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters. The universally accepted formula of BMI is- BMI = {Weight (kg)/Hight (m²)}. In this study, BMI was divided into three groups and assigned the corresponding codes, such as, <18.5 kg/m²=1(underweight); 18.50-24.99 kg/m²=2(normal weight) and ≥25.0 kg/m²=3(overweight).

Source of Information: The Chittagong Univ. J. Sci. 41(1) : 39-67 , 2019

Article Link (Online Journal): DOI: https://doi.org/10.3329/cujs.v41i1.51914

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

The purpose of this research study is to investigate the determinants of nutritional status among school girls in Chittagong metropolitan area. The findings show that still more than half (52.1%) of the schoolgirls are found malnourished. Since education is one of the prime determinants of nutritional status, therefore, students need proper education about the nutritional contents of food, particularly about fat and junk food in order to make appropriate food choices. The healthy girls are found the highest in the age group 12-13 years. Nevertheless, the percentage of underweight and overweight are also found relatively higher in the same group. The reason behind this they have the tendency for taking health care independently. Religion differentials of BMI show that there is a significant difference in mean BMI among Muslim and non-Muslim girls. In Bangladesh, the vast majority Muslim girls have religious taboos, conservative and possess a story influence on dietary habits. Current place of residence have wide variations in the contexts of BMI, probably because of the residential disparity among the respondents in respect to the socio-economic condition as well as levels of fathers and mothers education. The original disparity of nutritional status among school girls have been observed in this study due to social discrimination, cultural differences and inequality of the mental development process. The higher percentage of overweight among urban girls is undoubtedly a great concern, which indicates that a higher percentage of respondents in urban areas lead a luxurious life and that is why they are reluctant to do any type of physical work. Conversely, the girls residing in semiurban areas do struggle to lead a normal life; they still do not get adequate nutritious food. An educated father is normally aware of food value and that is why their daughters take nutritious food. Girls belong to such types of socially advanced families do not get enough time to do physical exercise because they are usually engaged with different types of electronic devices and social media for their amusements. In addition, there is no open place for doing physical work in urban settings, which might be an important cause of overweight. The findings also reflect that girls of higher educated mothers are more likely to obese than those whose education levels are lower. The reason is that a more educated mother has freedom to earn and to make decision on household purchase including foods. Thus, in the urban contexts, maternal education may be considered as a good proxy for the standard of living. Moreover, fathers’ occupation is also the most influencing factor for girls’ BMI.

Knowledge Management: Journal