Household Food Security Access and Nutritional Status among Early Adolescents in a Poor Neighborhood of Sinamangal, Nepal

BACKGROUND: Early adolescence is an important period of the life cycle wherein the food system plays a critical role in protecting food security as well as the nutritional needs essential for a healthy transition from childhood to adulthood. Despite the surging concerns regarding the food and nutrition security of adolescents throughout the nation, people in a poor neighborhood are often neglected and considered the most vulnerable. OBJECTIVES: This research aims to assess the status of household food security and nutritional status among early adolescents living in a poor neighborhood of Kathmandu, Nepal. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional study design, data was collected with the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) tool. Nutritional status was measured using the WHO Child Growth Standard Reference 2007 Statistical Software for Social Science (SPSS) macro package based on BMI-for-age z-score, height-for-age z-score, and weight-for-age z-score, respectively. Data were entered in a predetermined format of SPSS version 20.0 and imported into STATA version 13.1 for univariate and bivariate analyses. Ethical approval was sought from the Ethical Review Board of Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC) prior to the study. RESULTS: More than one-fifth (21%) of the households were food insecure. Based on BMI-for-age, 5.5% of the adolescents were found to be moderately undernourished and 2.6% were severely undernourished. The percentage of moderately and severely stunted adolescents were 8.4% and 5.8%, respectively, based on height-for-age. Based on weight-for-age, moderately and severely underweight adolescents accounted for 13.0% and 1.3% of the total. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of underweight, stunting, and wasting among early adolescents was high. The households in a poor neighborhood were also experiencing some form of food insecurity. This calls for targeted efforts to address malnutrition and improve the nutritional status of early adolescents, particularly in poor neighborhoods.