Background: Bangladesh is home to 36 million adolescents with the majority living in rural areas. Adolescence presents an additional window of opportunity to correct nutritional deficits among rural Bangladeshi adolescents. A high-quality, diverse diet is pivotal in this regard. Ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption is an emergent threat to public health. This study aimed to explore dietary diversity (DD) and UPF consumption in terms of gender and socio-economic stratification among rural adolescents in Matlab, Bangladesh. Methods: Adopting cross-sectional design 1441 adolescents were surveyed. Dietary diversity score and ultra-processed food consumption score (UFCS) were constructed through 24-hour recalls. Means and consumption proportions were compared across gender and socio-economic strata. Binary and ordinal logistic regression models were fitted to isolate socio-demographic variables associated with inadequate DD and higher UFCS respectively. Results: 43% of the adolescents had inadequate DD. Pro-boy gap in DD was evident, so was heavy reliance on rice and scant consumption of nutrient-rich foods. UPF consumption was low. Belonging to the richest and to food secure households were associated with lower odds of inadequate DD. Girls were more likely to have inadequate DD but less likely to have higher UFCS. Gender modified the effect of socio-economic status on UPF consumption. Conclusions: The diet of adolescents in Matlab lacked diversity, putting them at significant risk of nutritional deficiencies. Improving their DD requires pragmatic policies and tailored programs to tackle affordability and food insecurity issues, address social norms and intra-household dynamics that favor boys, and sensitize the adolescents to importance of consuming diverse diet. / 15-year Follow-up of MINIMat Trial
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-387328 |
| Date | January 2019 |
| Creators | Islam, Mohammad Redwanul |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Internationell mödra- och barnhälsovård (IMCH) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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