STUDY ON DIETARY PRACTICES AMONG ADOLESCENT GIRLS OF WORKING MOTHERS

Transcription

1 Asian J. Dairy & Food Res., () : 5-, AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION CENTRE / indianjournals.com STUDY ON DIETARY PRACTICES AMONG ADOLESCENT GIRLS OF WORKING MOTHERS Priya Singla* and Piverjeet Kaur Dhillon Department of Food and Nutrition, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-, India Received: -9- Accepted: -7- ABSTRACT A collection of data regarding dietary practices, meal pattern and food intake for adolescent girls aged - years of working mothers were selected from two schools in Ludhiana city and divided equally into two groups viz. Experimental (E) and Control (C). Nutrition counselling was done for a session of 5- minutes fortnightly for a period of three months for experimental group whereas the control group was not imparted with nutritional counselling. It was observed that majority of subjects i.e.. and per cent were in the habit of skipping at least one meal daily in group E and C, respectively. Frequency of consumption of all the breakfast (except poori channa, bhatura channa, naan) and lunch food items (except chicken, mutton, fish) was increased and no change was observed in consumption of food items in dinner after nutrition counselling in experimental group, thus depicting a positive impact. However, non-significant changes regarding dietary practices were observed among the subjects of control group. The daily intake of cereals, pulses and roots and tubers was marginally inadequate with a per cent adequacy of 79 & 5., 7 & 75.5 and. & 9 in experimental and control groups, respectively. The results of present investigation suggested that there is great need to impart nutrition counselling for longer duration to improve the nutritional status of adolescent girls by including high fiber foods like whole grain cereals, whole pulses, fruits and vegetables in their daily diet. Key words: Adolescent girls, Dietary practices, Nutrition counselling, Working mothers. INTRODUCTION Industrialization, moderni zati on and increase in purchasing power have led to the changes in food habits and lifestyle. The eating pattern of adolescents first increasingly gained attention in western countries in recent years. Adolescents consume more dietary fats in comparison to fruits and vegetables. Eratic eating behaviors such as unhealthy dieting, binge eating or meal skipping are not uncommon (Gomathy and John ). Consuming junk foods might stop the children from taking healthy meals either at school or at home. w a days, the school canteens are playing a major role in providing all sorts of pre-packaged fast food items. By offering foods high in fat and sugar, school canteens are actually contributing to the youth weight gain along with other problems like infections, food poisonings and dental diseases. (Pathak ). Women s health is of utmost importance as it reflects the health of family. India had the world s largest number of professionally qualified women. The mother s educational level is the one of the best predictors of the type and quality of child s diet, although the father s educational level also have an effect. Working mothers have less attention to their children s nutrition and exercise or health outcomes. Children of working mothers tend to consume more processed junk foods, fats, meat, milk, fish, green vegetables, less sugar and fruit juice whereas, children of poorer families tend to consume high sugar and unhygienic foods (Fernandez ). A good and balanced diet improves the quality of life. Nutritional attitudes and beliefs impact food choices and nutritional adequacy. Food and nutrient intake are closely related to nutritional status and health of an individual (Puri et al ). Good nutrition means eating foods that don t taste good and that eating healthy foods means not eating from vending machines or at fast food * Corresponding author s: prsingla@gmail.com

2 ASIAN JOURNAL OF DAIRY & FOOD RESEARCH restaurants. Nutrition issues that are especially amenable to group education methods include fast food, snack choices, sports nutrition and overweight. Adolescents often are not aware of the potential health risks associated with poor habits and have not thought about making dietary changes (Stang and Story 5). The goal of nutrition education is to increase adolescents awareness of risks associated with current eating habits, to teach to eat well balanced diet that contain a variety of foods and to learn to make wise food choices independently. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study was conducted on adolescent girls aged - years of working mothers were selected randomly from two different schools and divided equally into two groups viz. Experimental (E) and Control (C). The relevant information regarding age, occupation of mother, dietary practices, and meal pattern were collected by an interview schedule. Information regarding food intake of the subjects was recorded for seven consecutive days by using hour recall method using standardized containers before and after nutrition counselling and was compared with ICMR (999) recommendations. Nutrition counselling was also imparted to the subjects of group E in the form of modules, as well as lectures, visual aids like charts, posters, flash cards and leaflets for a period of three months i.e. one counselling session fortnightly in vernacular language on the balanced diet, functions of different nutrients and their requirements, nutritional disorders, their control and prevention, cooking practices and ill effects of junk foods, while group C was not be given any nutrition counselling. The data were tabulated and analyzed statistically by using frequencies, percentages and mean. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION G eneral information: As per the general information of the subjects, it was observed that.7, 5 &. per cent and 5.,. & per cent fell in the age group of, 7 & years in group E and C, respectively. Majority of subjects i.e. 9 and. percent in group E and C belonged to nuclear families. It was reported that and 5 per cent of mothers of the subjects were in service. Rest of the mothers viz. & 5 percent were involved in self employment like boutique, beautician, tutor, packing of tiffin system etc. in group E & C, respectively. As depicted in Table, the monthly income of the subjects ranged from Rs.,- Rs.55, per month. Majority i.e. 7. and per cent of the subjects ranged monthly income Rs. <, and.7 and.7 were ranged between Rs., Rs.,. The rest and. per cent ranged monthly income of Rs. >,. Ramesh () reported that maternal occupation had resulted in prevalence of overweight and obesity ( and. per cent) among high school students. Dietary practices: Majority of subjects i.e.. and per cent were vegetarian and the rest (.7 and per cent) were non-vegetarian in experimental and control group. Among non- vegetarian subjects, only per cent used to eat occasionally in group E may be due to its high cost. It was observed that majority i.e. 5 per cent of subjects skipped breakfast daily due to lack of time in group E, while in group C,. per cent skipped lunch daily due to lack of appetite. Only.7 per cent missed their meals twice a week in group E because they did not find it tasty and were more interested in fast foods and fried foods. It was noticed that 5. and. per cent of subjects consumed junk foods weekly, whereas and. per cent respondents consumed thrice a week in both the groups, respectively. It was observed that majority of subjects prefered to eat samosa, bread pakora, petties, hot dog, kulcha channa, pizza, noodles, burger and potato chips during lunch break. All the subjects in group E and.7 per cent in group C had habit to buy snacks from school canteen. After nutrition counseling, majority of the subjects in group E started taking packed lunch to schools rather than buying it from school canteen and packed lunches were also qualitatively and quantitatively improved along with nutrition knowledge of the children and the mothers. Singh and Singh () reported that per cent of adolescent girls (- years) brought their packed lunches, while, per cent consumed snacks like cake, pastry, sandwich, chocolates, sweets, ice cream etc. from school canteen. More than half of the subjects i.e.7 and per cent were fond of eating processed/ready to eat foods in group E and C and liked fast foods mostly, followed by Chinese foods, sweet meats and south Indian foods. Out of these, &. per cent and. &. per cent used to buy foods on weekly and fortnightly basis in group E & C respectively (Table ). It was further seen that 7 &. per cent of subjects liked to dine out with their parents in

3 Vol.,., 7 Parameters Group E (n= ) Group C (n= ) Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage Age (years) 7 Mother s occupation Service Self employment Total income(rs./month) <,, to, >, TABLE : General information and dietary practices of the subjects. Food habits Vegetarian n vegetarian Skipped meals Breakfast Lunch Dinner How often Once a day Once a week Twice a week > twice a week Junk foods How often Daily Weekly Twice a week Thrice a week Fortnightly Snacks from school canteen How frequently Daily Weekly Twice a week Thrice a week Once a Fortnight Rarely Ready to eat foods How frequently Daily Weekly Thrice a week Once in a fortnight Occasionally Li ke to dine out How frequently Once a Week Once a fortnight Once a Month Rarely

4 ASIAN JOURNAL OF DAIRY & FOOD RESEARCH both the groups. The data showed that. and.7 per cent liked to dine out weekly and fortnightly in group E. After nutrition counselling, most number of subjects preferred homemade nutritious foods and less likely to dine out. The subjects also preferred low fat foods and highly nutritious fiber rich foods. Amin et al () reported that frequency of eating food outside home was higher among overweight and obese children as they used to dine out five times per week. Sharma and Gambhir (9) reported that majority of subjects (5.5%) purchased ready to eat snack items most frequently both in urban and rural areas. Food consumption pattern of different meals: The results revealed in the table that 9 & per cent, 77 & 7 per cent, 7. & 9. per cent consumed vegetable stuffed parantha, stuffed left over dal and left over vegetable parantha thrice a week, while 7. &. per cent and. & 7 per cent consumed chapatti with dal and vegetable twice a week in group E & C before nutrition counselling respectively. It was reported that 5 & per cent, 7 & per cent, &. per cent, & per cent and 7 &. per cent consumed poori channa, bhatura channa, naan, poha and upma once a week in both the groups respectively. Further, 7 & 5. per cent,. & per cent, 7 &. per cent and &. per cent consumed sandwich, dalia, cornflakes and oats daily in group E & C, respectively. After nutrition counseling, there was an improvement in group E, and it could be due to nutrition counseling sessions as they were advised to eat more whole grain cereals with lots of vegetable and in the form of missi roti, dalia etc as it consisted lots of fiber, vitamins and proteins. They were also taught to take breakfast regularly as it is a healthy way to start the day. It provided energy that could increase concentration level, helped to reduce raised blood sugar levels and improved behavioral performance. Pathak () observed that 9., 7.5 and 9. per cent of overweight adolescent girls preferred parantha with vegetable, stuffed parantha and sandwiches for their packed lunch. The most common foods at lunch among the subjects were pulses, vegetable, chapatti and curd. The results of the present study presented that majority i.e. 9, 9., & 9. and 97, 97 & per cent of subjects consumed wheat flour chapatti, pulses and seasonal vegetables daily in group E and C before nutrition counseling, respectively. It was observed that cereals were also consumed in the form of maize flour chapatti and rice was common in & 7 per cent and 57 & 7 per cent thrice a week before nutrition counseling in both the groups, respectively. Further, consumption of milk in the form of curd and butter milk was common in 57 & 7 per cent and 7 &. per cent daily in both the groups respectively. After nutrition counseling, there was improvement in intake of food items in experimental group except non-vegetarian foods at lunch time, while, no improvement in intake was observed in case of control group. During nutrition counseling sessions, the subjects were advised to avoid sweets or chocolates just before lunch as it might lose appetite and were taught to increase consumption of seasonal vegetables like green leafy vegetables as these were easily available during winter season, milk in the form of curd. They were also taught to take packed lunch to school and reduce the consumption of junk foods from school canteen as it might lead to weight gain. Hastert and Babey (9) reported that adolescents who brought their lunch from home ate fast foods fewer times as compared to those who never brought packed lunch to school. The data in the present study revealed that all the subjects in both the groups consumed pulses and wheat flour chapatti daily, while & 7 per cent and 7 & 7 per cent also preferred vegetables along with pulses daily before and after nutrition counseling. After nutrition counseling, no significant improvement in intake of foods were observed. During counseling session, the subjects were taught to avoid fatty foods as it caused weight gain and also to increase the intake of fruits and vegetables at dinner time. They were advised to dine at home regularly with their parents as it decreased the risk of developing unhealthy eating habits. Fulkerson et al (9) reported that adolescents (7- years) who skipped family dinner were significantly more obese as compared to those who preferred dinner with their family. Food intake: The mean daily food intake of the subjects before and after nutrition counseling is given in table. It was observed that the mean intake of cereals was and g & 75 and 9. g in group E & C before and after nutrition counseling respectively. It was reported to be less than the recommended intake range of g as suggested by

5 Vol.,., 9 TABLE : Meal pattern among subjects before and after nutrition counseling

6 ASIAN JOURNAL OF DAIRY & FOOD RESEARCH ICMR in both the groups. The subjects in group E were taught to increase the intake of cereal foods which contains phenolic acid and phytoestrogens with antioxidant properties and decrease the intake of processed cereals. Zanvar and Devi (7) reported that mean daily consumption of cereals among adolescent girls (- years) ranged between 5. to 77.9 g which was lesser as compared to ICMR recommendations. The mean daily consumption of pulses in group E & C were 5 &. g and 5 & 5. g before and after nutrition counselling respectively. The increase in the pulse intake in group E as they were taught to include more sprouted pulse products like stuffed parantha, salad, chat, raita etc. during nutrition counseling sessions. The intake of green leafy vegetables was only in missi roti and very little intake of green leafy vegetables was observed among the subject of both the groups as they did not like the taste of green leafy vegetables in vegetable form. The intake was less as compared to the suggested levels. After nutrition counseling, the subjects came to know about the importance of GLV s being cheap source of important vitamins, minerals and fiber. An inadequate consumption of green leafy vegetables was reported by Srimani et al (). The mean daily intake of roots and tubers by the subjects of group E & C before and after counseling were & 9 g and. & 9 g respectively. The mean daily consumption of other vegetables was & g and &.5 g in group E & C before and after nutrition counseling. It was further observed that the mean daily intake of roots and tubers and other vegetables among subjects was lower than the recommendations in both the groups. During nutrition counselling sessions, the subjects were advised to increase the intake of cucumber in the form of salads, cabbage, peas which are high in fiber and provide more satiety. The fruits commonly consumed by the subjects were apple, banana, orange and tomato etc. The mean daily intake of fruits in group E & C was.5 & 5 g and 5 g and 5 g before and after nutrition counseling, respectively. The subjects were not very fond of fruits like amla, ber, guava and papaya, but during nutrition counseling sessions beneficial effects of these were taught and the subjects of group E started eating the same. Pathak () reported that intake of fruits was common among.7, 9. and 9. per cent of normal, overweight and underweight adolescents. The consumption of milk and milk products was in the form of curd, butter milk, tea, coffee, cheese and as sweet dishes like kheer and gajrela. The mean daily intake of milk and milk products was. & g and 5 & g in group E & C before and after nutrition counseling respectively. It was observed that the subjects who were not in the habit of taking milk started consuming milk at least once a day. Similar results have been reported by Videon and Manning (). Fats and oils were consumed in the form of vanaspati, refined oil, butter & butter oil and fried foods such as pakoras, samosa, parantha, puri, bhatoora, pinni, panjeeri and groundnuts as the subjects were in the habit of eating some of these items at lunch-break from school canteen. It was observed that the average intake of fats & oils in group E & C was 9 & g and 5.5 &.5 g before and after nutrition counselling, respectively. The intake of fats & oils in the group E was marginally less, while, it was higher in group C when compared to ICMR recommendations. It was TABLE : Mean daily food intake of subjects before and after nutrition counseling Group E (n= ) Group C (n= ) References Food group Before After Before After # (g) Cereals Pulses Green leafy vegetables Roots and tubers. 9 9 Other vegetables.5 Fruits Milk and milk product. 5 5 Fats and oils Sugar and jaggery...5 Meat, Fish and poultry # ICMR (999)

7 observed that the decrease in the intake of fat in group E was due to the fact that they were taught about healthy foods and decrease intake of fried foods as it could lead to overweight or obesity. It was observed that the subjects of group E shifted to stuffed or plain roti with curd or vegetables etc instead to take butter, ghee, cream along with parantha after nutrition counseling sessions. Intake of fats and oils were higher in girls as compared to boys than recommendations were noticed by Kumari and Jain (5). The sugar was mainly consumed in the form of biscuits, cakes, chocolates, gajrela, ice cream, pinni, panjeeri, shakes, soft drinks, sweets, toffees and by addition in milk, tea, coffee etc. It was observed that the mean daily intake of sugar and jaggery was. &g and. &.5 g in group E & C before and after nutrition counseling respectively. During nutrition counselling sessions, the subjects were taught to reduce the intake of sweet meats and sweet dishes as it resulted in overweight and obesity, diabetes, hypertension etc. Vol.,., CONCLUSION It was concluded from the study that adolescents were not following healthy eating patterns and dietary habits. It was observed that breakfast was not necessarily consumed by each subject daily. It was further seen that the daily intake of cereals, pulses, roots and tubers, green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, fruits and milk & milk products increased, while intake of fats & oils are found to be decreased in group E due to effect of nutritional counseling. It is recommended that all the three meals should be nutritious and in adequate amounts. Lunch should be taken from home rather than buying it from school canteen. Limit the use of butter, bakery products, fried and processed snacks and no meal should be skipped. It is advisable to maintain ideal body weight by burning extra calories, by daily walks, physical exercise to remain healthy and for the prevention of diseases. REFERENCES Amin T T, Al-Sultan A L and Ali A () Overweight and obesity and their association with dietary habits and socio demographic characteristics among male primary school children in Al-Hassa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Indian J Comm Medi ():7-. Batra I (9) Nutritional profile of vegetarians and non-vegetarian school children. Msc. Thesis. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. Fernandez P M () Dietary habits and nutritional status of school aged children in Spain. Nutr Hosp (): 7-7. Fulkerson J A, Kubik M Y, Story M, Lytle L and Arcan C (9) Are their nutritional and other benefits associated with family meals among at risk youth? J Adolescent Health 5():9-95. Gomathy R and John S () Measuring psychosocial, environmental and behavioural factors that influence the fruit and vegetable intake of adolescent girls. J Indian Dietet Assoc ():-7. Hastert T A and Babey S H (9) School lunch source and adolescent dietary behavior. Prev Chronic Dis ():A7. ICMR (999) Nutrient Requirements and Recommended Dietary Allowances for Indians, National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad, India. Kumari S and Jain R (5) Assessment of nutritional status of school children from rural Bihar. The Indian J Nutr Dietet (7):-. Pathak S () To Assess the incidence of overweight and obesity in school going children (- years) and its relationship with mothers nutritional knowledge, attitude and practice. M.Sc. Thesis. Government Home Science College, Chandigarh, India. Puri S, Bhatia V, Swami H, Rai S and Mangat C () Impact of Diet and Nutrition related Education package on the awareness and practices of School children of Chandigarh. The Internet J Epidemiology (). Sharma J and Gambhir C (9) Consumer awarenwss about quality and safety of packaged foods in Chandigarh. Indian J Nutr Dietet ():-. Singh P and Singh A () Increasing allurensent for fast food in adolescent girls of urban area Varanasi. Indian J Prev Soc Med 9(&). Srimani S, Bose M, Saha T and Chaudhuri D () A comparative study on the prevalence of anaemia among rural and urban school going adolescent ( to years) girls and its relationship with selected factors in West Bengal. J Indian Dietet Assoc ():-5. Stang J and Story M (5) Guidelines for Adolescent Nutrition Services. US department of Health and Human Services, University of Minnesota Pp Ramesh () Prevalnce of overweight and obesity among high school students of Thiuvananthapuram city corporation, Kerala, India. Australasian Med J ():5-. Zanvar V and Devi R (7) Effect of family income on nutritional status of selected adolescent girls of Marathwada region. The Indian J Nutr Dietet (7):5-.