Baral Samiksha, Singh Anil Kumar, Aryal Arjun, Subedi Jwala, Dhakal Utsav, Khanal Anita
Central Department of Public Health, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.
School of Public Health and Community Medicine, B. P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal.
PLOS Glob Public Health. 2025 Jan 7;5(1):e0004136. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0004136. eCollection 2025.
A dramatic rise in obesity is caused by unhealthy eating habits combined with lower levels of physical activity, and the under nutrition problem is still unresolved. Focusing on the nutritional needs of adolescents could be a significant step toward breaking the vicious cycle of malnutrition, chronic diseases, and poverty. This study aims to assess food habit, levels of physical activity and nutritional status of adolescents in Madhyapur Thimi Municipality, Bhaktapur. A cross-sectional descriptive study design was conducted. Cluster random sampling technique with validated, self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Ethical approval, written informed consent and assent were obtained. International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to measure level of physical activity. Nutritional Status was measured in terms of BMI for age z-score. Height and weight were measured by using UNICEF Stadiometer and Seca Scale. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis was applied for the further analysis using SPSS V 20. Among the 460 participants, 19.6% were overweight, while 8.5% were underweight. Factors showing a statistical association with being overweight included the mother's occupation, fruit avoidance, exposure to mass media advertisements, junk food consumption. Almost all the participants (93%) consumed junk food with (57.5%) consuming daily or alternately. Regarding physical activity, 65.4% of participants engaged in moderate activity, 30.7% were inactive and only 3.9% engaged in high levels of physical activity. The level of physical activity did not show a significant association with being overweight. Public health nutritionists should actively engage adolescents in developing interventions that promote healthy eating habits and reduce junk food consumption, as adolescents are more susceptible to food marketing than adults. Physical activity alone may not be responsible for being overweight as dietary modification plays vital role in maintaining normal body weight.
不健康的饮食习惯加上体育活动水平较低导致肥胖率急剧上升，而营养不良问题仍未得到解决。关注青少年的营养需求可能是打破营养不良、慢性病和贫困恶性循环的重要一步。本研究旨在评估巴克塔普尔市马德亚普尔蒂米市青少年的饮食习惯、体育活动水平和营养状况。采用横断面描述性研究设计。使用经过验证的自填问卷通过整群随机抽样技术收集数据。获得了伦理批准、书面知情同意和同意书。使用国际体力活动问卷（IPAQ）测量体育活动水平。营养状况根据年龄别BMI z评分进行测量。身高和体重使用联合国儿童基金会身高计和赛卡秤进行测量。使用卡方检验进行数据分析，并使用SPSS V 20应用逻辑回归分析进行进一步分析。在460名参与者中，19.6%超重，而8.5%体重不足。与超重有统计学关联的因素包括母亲的职业、不吃水果、接触大众媒体广告、食用垃圾食品。几乎所有参与者（93%）都食用垃圾食品，其中57.5%每天或隔天食用。关于体育活动，65.4%的参与者进行中等强度活动，30.7%不活动，只有3.9%进行高强度体育活动。体育活动水平与超重没有显著关联。公共卫生营养学家应积极促使青少年参与制定促进健康饮食习惯和减少垃圾食品消费的干预措施，因为青少年比成年人更容易受到食品营销的影响。仅体育活动可能不是超重的原因，因为饮食调整在维持正常体重方面起着至关重要的作用。
