Nutritional profiles of adolescents in a rural community of Hooghly district in West Bengal.

This community based study was carried out in Haripal Block of Hooghly district in West Bengal in 2005 to assess the nutritional status of the unmarried adolescents and 204 adolescents were studied. The BMI for age and height for age < 5th percentile were used as criteria for thinness and stunting respectively. The overall prevalence of thinness and stunting were 24.48% and 52.45%, thinness was more common among the boys. The other nutritional deficiency disorders were pallor (12.25%), conjunctival xerosis (9.30%), Vitamin B complex deficiency (1.47%), goitre (0.98%) and dental caries (11.76%). An indication of chronic energy deficiency in the study area was observed.