Dietary and nondietary determinants of nutritional status among adolescent girls and adult women in India

Adolescence appears to be the next available critical period to improve inadequacies in nutrition, growth, and development from childhood. In this analysis, we describe the dietary and nondietary determinants of nutritional status among adolescent girls and adult women residing in rural areas of India. We used data pertaining to 3930 adolescents (10-19 years) and 11,058 adult women (20-49 years) from the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau Survey, 2011-2012 database. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to understand the effects of various individual- and household-level determinants of thinness and underweight among adolescents and adult women, respectively. Almost one-third of the adolescents and adult women were undernourished. Factors other than dietary adequacy and diversity had a greater impact on undernutrition in both the adolescents and adult women. The nondietary determinants (e.g., higher age group, higher household wealth status, access to improved water, better maternal work status, and living in better type of houses) predicted good nutritional status in the adolescent girls. In addition, the women's own higher education and household occupation status and better sanitation facilities improved undernutrition in adult women. Therefore, India needs multipronged strategies along with dietary interventions and effective implementation programs to achieve good health and well-being of adolescents and adult women.