Research Article Int J Cur Res Rev | Vol 7 • Issue 21 • November 2015 41 ASSESSMENT OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS AMONG ADOLESCENT BOYS (10-19 YEARS) OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AN URBAN AREA OF DISTRICT ROHTAK, HARYANA Vikas Gupta 1 , Debjyoti Mohapatra 1 , Vijay Kumar 2 1 Junior resident, Department of Community Medicine, Pt B.D. Sharma, PGIMS, Rohtak, Haryana; 2 Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Pt B.D. Sharma, PGIMS, Rohtak, Haryana. ABSTRACT Background: Census 2011 estimated that there are approximately 253 million adolescents in India, constituting about 20.9% of the total population. Adolescence is an important stage of growth and development in the lifespan. Adolescent is a tender stage which is not only marked by rapid physical growth, but also accompanied by sexual and hormonal turbulence. Inadequate nutri- tion not only hamper the physical growth but also delay pubertal changes in the body. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted in the field area of an urban health center, Rohtak, Harayna during the months of January to March 2015. The participants involved were school going adolescent boys 10 to 19 years). The partici- pants were classified as thinness as their under-nutritional status depending upon the Z-score value (WHO growth standards, 2007) of their respective BMI. Results: A total of 649 boy participated in study. Overall mean age of study participants was 15.5 years. The proportion of adolescents who were undernourished based on BMI Z Score came out as 36.7% (13.3% severely undernourished and 23.4% moderately undernourished). Mothers education status was found to have a significant impact on nutritional status of adolescent (P = 0.017). Conclusion: Nutritional status of the studied children is not impressive among adolescent boys, there is a need for health pro- motion activities in school children by providing an enabling environment and improving nutritional status of the adolescents will go a long way in maintaining the health of the country.. Key Words: Under-nutrition, BMI, Adolescents Corresponding Author: Dr. Vikas Gupta, Room no-252, Doctor’s Hostel, Pt. B.D. Sharma, PGIMS, Rohtak, Haryana- 124001 Email: vckg1987@gmail.com Received: 24.08.2015 Revised: 19.09.2015 Accepted: 15.10.2015 INTRODUCTION The World Health Organization (WHO) defines adolescents as individuals aged 10-19 years. The term adolescent is de- rived from the latin word “adolescere” meaning “to grow up”. As per World Population Prospects, the 2012 revision, there are around 699 adolescents worldwide, comprising 17.3 % of the global population. Every fifth person in the world is an adolescent. Census 2011 estimated that there are approximately 253 million adolescents in India, constituting about 20.9% of the total population. Adolescence is an important stage of growth and develop- ment in the lifespan. Adolescent is a tender stage which is not only marked by rapid physical growth, but also accompanied by sexual and hormonal changes. This period is very crucial since these are the formative years in the life of an individual when major physical, psychological, hormonal and behav- ioural changes take place. Adolescent period may represent a window of opportunity to prepare an adolescent for a healthy adult life. (Tanner) Unfortunately these group of individuals are the most neglected as they are neither children nor adults. Yet they experience a variety of health and social problems like early marriage, teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, injuries, learn- ing disabilities, mental illness and malnutrition. (Kathleen M Kurz) Nutrition is the foundation for good health and development. Malnutrition denotes impairment of health arising either IJCRR Section: Healthcare Sci. Journal Impact Factor 4.016