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A cross-sectional study was conducted in 7 junior colleges of Nagpur district, Maharashtra, India. A total of 410 students were enrolled in the study and given a specially designed structured self-administered pretested questionnaire. Students were invited to ask any queries on the topic. Majority (44.14%) of the students were 18 years old. Most of the students (52.68%) belonged to the Social class III. 74.87 per cent of the students knew that China is the most populous country in the world. 58.78 per cent of the students did not know the ideal spacing between two children. An overwhelming number of students (77.31%) desired only two children. Results are encouraging in some areas while disappointing in some others. Small-family norm and preference for the female child are slowly gaining acceptance.

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Title

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH OF ADOLESCENT GIRLS IN AN URBAN POPULATION OF MEERUT, UTTAR PRADESH

Volume-Issue-Year

Vol.32,No.4,2009

Author

Kajal Jain, S.K. Garg, J.V. Singh, M. Bhatnagar, H. Chopra and S. K. Bajpai

Keywords

Adolescent, RTI, Menarche, Reproduction, Contraception

Abstract

Today, the developing world has 84 per cent of the world’s adolescent population. There are an estimated 200 million adolescents in India who comprise one-fifth of the total Indian population. As many as 40-45 per cent of the adolescent girls reports menstrual problems. These are mainly due to psycho-social stress and emotional changes. To study the reproductive health of adolescent girls in the urban field practice area of LLRM Medical College, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India; 402 adolescent girls in the 10-19 years age group were interviewed with a pre-tested questionnaire. 72.1 per cent of the girls had attained menarche at the time of the survey, of which 66.9 per cent reported of having regular periods and 5.2 per cent of them had irregular periods. 40.3 per cent of them reported of feeling pain or cramps during menstrual periods. The average age of menarche was found to be 13.16 years. 60 per cent of the girls had heard about HIV/AIDS and 31.8 per cent of them had heard about RTI.16.42 per cent of the girls suffered from one or the other symptoms of RTI of which 80.3 per cent suffered from excessive vaginal discharge.14.28 per cent of the girls sought treatment from government facilities. 29.6 per cent of the girls had knowledge about contraception.

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Title

PREVALENCE OF BEHAVIOURAL RISK FACTORS OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES AMONG SCHOOL GOING ADOLESCENTS OF AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT

Volume-Issue-Year

Vol.32,No.4,2009

Author

J. Prajapati, J. Oza, P. Prajapati, A. Bhagyalaxmi and V.S. Rawal

Keywords

Adolescents, Behavioural risk factors, Cardio-vascular diseases

Abstract

Cardio-vascular diseases are considerably increasing in India for the last few decades, comparatively at a higher rate in urban areas. Their risk factors start very early in life. So, this study was done in school going adolescents to know the prevalence of behavioural risk factors and to know the difference between rural and urban areas. In this cross-sectional study, 18 urban and 12 rural schools were selected by proportional stratified random sampling. 900 students were selected by systemic random sampling from 30 schools that included 30 students from each school. Oral questionnaire method was used to collect information. The mean ages of urban and rural boys were 14.65±1.03 years and 14.96±1.13 years respectively and 14.97±1.14 years and 15.02±0.96 years respectively for urban and rural girls. 4.26 per cent of the urban students were physically inactive which was significantly higher than the rural students. Table salt and high-energy food intake were higher among the urban students while tobacco chewing practice was more prevalent among the rural students. The study revealed that prevalence of behavioural risk factors is considerably higher both in urban and rural areas which requires behavioural skill training in schools.

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Title

NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF ADOLESCENTS IN RURAL AND URBAN ROHTAK, HARYANA

Volume-Issue-Year

Vol.32,No.4,2009

Author

B.M. Vashist, Joyti and M.K. Goel

Keywords

Nutritional status, Adolescents, Anthropometry, Stunting, Thinness, Rural, Urban

Abstract

Adolescents form the future generation of a country. Adolescents’ nutritional needs are critical for the well being of a society. Investing in nutrition throughout the life cycle will have both short-term and longterm benefits of economic and social significance. Hence, this study was carried out with the aim to determine the nutritional status of adolescents in urban and rural schools of Rohtak district of Haryana, India. Stratified random sampling technique was used for sampling. The study population was divided into two strata- rural and urban and further into two sub-strata based on the type of school i.e. government or private in each stratum. Sample size selected for the study was 2000 with 500 subjects per substratum. Height and weight were taken using the standard procedure. Stunting (height for age) and thinness (BMI for age) were calculated as per the National Centre for Health and Statistics (NCHS) standards. The data were analyzed separately for boys and girls and tests of significance applied wherever applicable. It was found that the mean weight and mean BMI of adolescents in the 13–14 years age group was more in rural areas (38.83 kg and 16.97) than in urban areas (38.59 kg and 16.95). However, mean height was similar for this age group in both urban as well as rural areas. In successive age groups, all three parameters were more in urban adolescents than in their rural counterparts. Mean weight and mean BMI among female subjects in urban areas was more than those from rural areas in all age groups. However, mean height was similar in both the areas except among adolescents of 15–16 years age group, where urban females were taller than rural females approximately by 1 cm. The prevalence of thinness in the rural areas ranged from 24.5 to 31.5 per cent among males as compared to 14.6 to 15.8 per cent among females. Stunting in urban areas ranged from 6.5 to 15.2 per cent among males and 7 to 14 among females. Thinness was more prevalent among males than females in urban areas and it ranged from 21.9 to 34.1 per cent among males and 11.5 to 19.8 per cent among females. The prevalence of stunting and thinness was more in rural than in urban settings for both the sexes but the difference was not statistically significant. The overall nutritional status among the rural subjects was poor than that of the urban subjects for both the sexes. Hence, more stress should be laid on planning and implementing nutritional programmes for adolescents in rural settings.

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Title

EFFECT OF SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS ON THE PREFERENCE FOR THE SEX OF CHILDREN BY WOMEN IN AHMEDABAD DISTRICT

Volume-Issue-Year

Vol.32,No.4,2009

Author

Mallika Chavada and A. Bhagyalaxmi

Keywords

Gender preference, Reproductive women, Socio-cultural factors, Education

Abstract

A number of cultural and socio-economic factors influence the relative benefits and costs of sons and daughters and ultimately effects the parents’ gender preferences. The present study was carried out to Know the effect of socio-cultural factors on the preference of the sex of the children. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 385 married women in the reproductive age group of 15-49 years during March 2007-April 2008 in randomly selected areas of Ahmedabad district, Gujarat, India. Son-preference was observed amongst 87.53 per cent of the studied women. 93.04 per cent of the illiterate women preferred male child whereas 68.75 per cent of the women who completed graduation had the preference for son. The association between education and son preference was found to be statistically significant (P<0.01). The son preference observed more in rural areas (94.30%) than urban areas (80.73%) and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.0001). Keeping the family line (42.14%) and the girl not staying with parents after the marriage (50.45%) were the major reasons for son preference. The study found that education, place of residence and cultural factors play a role in son-preference.

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