Abstract

In many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) the double burden of malnutrition is high among adolescent girls, leading to poor health outcomes for the adolescent herself and sustained intergenerational effects. This underpins the importance of adequate dietary intake during this period of rapid biological development. The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the current dietary intake and practices among adolescent girls (10–19 years) in LMICs. We searched relevant databases and grey literature using MeSH terms and keywords. After applying specified inclusion and exclusion criteria, 227 articles were selected for data extraction, synthesis, and quality assessment. Of the included studies, 59% were conducted in urban populations, 78% in school settings, and dietary measures and indicators were inconsistent. Mean energy intake was lower in rural settings (1621 ± 312 kcal/day) compared to urban settings (1906 ± 507 kcal/day). Self-reported daily consumption of nutritious foods was low; on average, 16% of girls consumed dairy, 46% consumed meats, 44% consumed fruits, and 37% consumed vegetables. In contrast, energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods, like sweet snacks, salty snacks, fast foods, and sugar-sweetened beverages, were consumed four to six times per week by an average of 63%, 78%, 23%, and 49% of adolescent girls, respectively. 40% of adolescent girls reported skipping breakfast. Along with highlighting the poor dietary habits of adolescent girls in LMIC, this review emphasizes the need for consistently measured and standardized indicators, and dietary intake data that are nationally representative.

Details

Title
The Dietary Intake and Practices of Adolescent Girls in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review
Author
Keats, Emily C 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Rappaport, Aviva I 1 ; Shah, Shailja 1 ; Oh, Christina 1 ; Jain, Reena 1 ; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A 2 

 Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, Centre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada 
 Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, Centre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada; Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Division of Woman and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi 74800, Pakistan 
First page
1978
Publication year
2018
Publication date
2018
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20726643
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2667632515
Copyright
© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.