Socio-Demographic and Diet-Related Factors Associated with Insufficient Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among Adolescent Girls in Rural Communities of Southern Nepal

Jitendra Kumar Singh, Dilaram Acharya, Salila Gautam, Mandira Adhikari, Ji-Hyuk Park, Seok-Ju Yoo and Kwan Lee
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Jitendra Kumar Singh: Department of Community Medicine, Janaki Medical College, Tribhuvan University, Janakpur 456000, Nepal
Dilaram Acharya: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Dongguk University, Gyeongju 38066, Korea
Salila Gautam: Department of Public Health, Sanjeevani College of Medical Sciences, Butwal, Rupandehi 32907, Nepal
Mandira Adhikari: Nepal Development Society, Bharatpur 44200, Nepal
Ji-Hyuk Park: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Dongguk University, Gyeongju 38066, Korea
Seok-Ju Yoo: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Dongguk University, Gyeongju 38066, Korea
Kwan Lee: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Dongguk University, Gyeongju 38066, Korea

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 12, 1-11

Abstract: Sufficient fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption has been associated with reduced risks of chronic diseases and adverse health conditions. However, the determinants of insufficient of FV intake among adolescent girls in Nepal have not been determined. This study was undertaken to identify associations between socio-demographic and diet-related factors with insufficient fruit and vegetable consumption among adolescent girls living in rural communities. This community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted on 407 adolescent girls from rural communities in the Bateshwar rural municipality of Dhanusha district, Southern Nepal between 12 October, 2018 and 14 December, 2018. The study subjects responded to FV consumption and dietary factor-related questionnaires, and anthropometric measurements were taken. Data were analyzed using the univariate logistic regression followed by multivariable logistic regression analyses. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) are reported. From the 407 study subjects, 359 (88.2%) reported insufficient FV consumption. The factors significantly associated with insufficient FV consumption were education to under the 10th grade, household income in the first tercile, lack of awareness of the importance of FV consumption, the non-availability of FVs at the household level, the low level of dietary diversity, and undernutrition (BMI (body mass index) (<18.5)). The study shows almost 90% of adolescent girls consumed inadequate amounts of FV and that socio-demographic and dietary factors should be taken into account while designing preventive strategies to increase fruit and vegetable consumption to recommended levels.

Keywords: adolescent girls; dietary factors; fruit and vegetable consumption; Nepal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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