EVALUATION OF DIETARY PATTERN, ANTHROPOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS, AND MICRONUTRIENT STATUS OF ADOLESCENTS ATTENDING SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN BAUCHI METROPOLIS

Adolescence refers to a transitional phase of growth and development between childhood and adulthood. This cross-sectional study evaluates the dietary patter, anthropometric characteristic and micronutrients status of adolescents attending secondary school in Bauchi Metropolis. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 300 respondents from the study area. A semi structured questionnaire was use to elicit for information on sociodemographic data, dietary pattern anthropometric measurement and dietary intake using 24hr dietary recall. Descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyze the data using SPSS version 23. The results of this study revealed that about 48.7% of the respondents were within the age range of 15-16 years, more (55%) female than male (45%). Half (50.3%) of the respondents were at SS 2 class and 23.3% and 26.3% of the respondents were SS 1 and SS 3 students respectively. During dinner time result further revealed that 44% of the respondents consume Tuwo and kuka soup, 11.3% Koko and akara and 18% of them were use to eat semovita and vegetable soup during dinner time. There is a good nutritional status in this study which shows that almost half (45%) of the respondents were normal. The micronutrients intake of the respondents shows a higher intake than the recommended daily allowance. The study further recommended that Interventions for the prevention and control of nutritional status must go much further than simply prompting nutrition knowledge but aim at the development of healthy lifestyle habits.