Purpose: Malnutrition is a pressing public health challenge in South Asia with adverse consequences for adolescent girls' well-being and, potentially, aspirations as drivers of developmental progress. This study aimed to investigate associations between changes in malnutrition and changes in girls' aspirations in key life domains.
Methods: We analyzed two-period panel data from the Suaahara II Adolescent Girls Panel (10-19 years) in Nepal (2018-2019, n = 613). Height, weight, blood samples, 24-hour dietary recalls, and indicators of girls' educational, occupational, marital, and fertility aspirations were collected. Height-for-age z-scores, body mass index-for-age z-scores, hemoglobin concentration (Hb g/dL), and dietary diversity scores for women were calculated. Through cluster-robust fixed-effects regressions, we examined whether changes in thinness (body mass index-for-age z-scores < -2 standard deviation), anemia (Hb <115 g/L nonpregnant <11 years; Hb <120 g/L nonpregnant >12 years; Hb <110 g/L pregnant), and reaching minimum dietary diversity for women were associated with changes in educational, marital, or fertility aspirations.
Results: A change from thinness to no thinness increased girls' aspired ages of having a first child by 2.77 years (standard error [SE] 1.22, p = .025). A change from anemia to no anemia increased girls' aspired years of education by .54 (SE .27, p = .044). This association was stronger for postmenarche girls (b -.62, SE .29, p = .035). No associations were found between changes in minimum dietary diversity for women and any of the aspirations.
Conclusions: Thinness and anemia were negatively associated with adolescent girls' aspirations in domains of fertility and education. Multisectoral integrated policies and programs that improve adolescent nutritional status and diets have the potential to foster adolescent girls' aspirations and thereby increase their future potential.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.10.029 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Base of Skull & Spinal Canal Narrowing in an Adolescent with Autosomal Recessive Hypophosphatemic Rickets Type 2.
Calcif Tissue Int
January 2025
Department of Paediatric Endocrinology, Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool, UK.
Autosomal recessive hypophosphatemic rickets type 2 (ARHR2) is an uncommon hereditary form of rickets characterised by chronic renal phosphate loss and impaired bone mineralisation. This results from compound heterozygous or homozygous pathogenic variants in ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 1 (ENPP1), a key producer of extracellular inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) and an inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor23 (FGF23). ENPP1 deficiency impacts FGF23 and increases its activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe prevalence of malnutrition in children under 6 in Southern Iran from 2018 to 2023: a population-based study authors.
J Health Popul Nutr
January 2025
Research Center for Non-Communicable Disease, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran.
Background: Malnutrition, wasting, and obesity among children under 6 years old pose a serious global health concern, increasing the risk of various infectious and non-infectious diseases. Therefore, regular monitoring of these conditions is crucial. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition in children under 6 years of age from 2018 to 2023.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProlonged prothrombin time in hyperemesis gravidarum as an indicator of vitamin K deficiency.
J Obstet Gynaecol Res
January 2025
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the impact of maternal vitamin K deficiency on fetal health, specifically in patients with severe hyperemesis gravidarum.
- Researchers compared coagulation factors in hyperemesis patients with those undergoing other procedures and found significant changes, particularly in prothrombin time.
- Timely vitamin K supplementation can normalize coagulation levels, potentially preventing serious fetal complications related to vitamin K deficiency.
Malnutrition/exercise interaction in the rat mother-pup dyad: a behavioral and electrophysiological analysis.
Nutr Neurosci
January 2025
Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
Objectives: Maternal protein malnutrition alters brain functioning, impairing fetal development. Physical exercise during gestation benefits the fetal organism from maternal adaptive changes that may be neuroprotective. This study evaluated the effect of a low-protein diet associated with maternal voluntary physical activity (VPA) on rats' behavioral and brain electrophysiological parameters in the mother-pup dyad.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Efficacy of Zinc Gluconate Supplementation in the Improvement of Malnutrition Indices and Skin Abnormalities in Hemodialysis Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Int J Prev Med
November 2024
Nutrition and Food Security Research Center and Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Article Synopsis
- Hemodialysis patients often face issues like malnutrition and skin problems, leading researchers to investigate whether zinc supplementation could help improve these conditions.
- In a double-blind study with 87 participants, those receiving zinc gluconate showed increased appetite and reduced skin itching after 12 weeks, while no major side effects were reported.
- However, the supplementation did not significantly affect body composition, strength, or other skin abnormalities compared to the placebo group.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!