Published Paper Details:

Healthy food habits in girls during adolescence are of utmost importance as practices followed during this age are carried out in the future and influence the food habits and thus the health of their families and community. So, the present study was carried out to assess the food and nutrient intake, anthropometric measurements, nutritional knowledge and dietary practices of hostel girls studying in Teerthanker Mahaveer University, Moradabad. A total of 100 girls staying in the hostel of Teerthanker Mahaveer University were selected using random sampling, and the data was collected regarding socio-economic profile, food and nutrient intake, anthropometric subjects, nutrition knowledge and dietary practices using survey schedules by interview method. The results revealed that the intake of mostly nutrients was deficient except for fat and vitamin C, which was 187.4 and 121.4 per cent 50-75% of the RDA. Only 68% of girls were normal according to BMI, and the rest were malnourished, with 18 per cent undernourished and 14 per cent over nourished. The reason for this was faulty food habits which were judged by their attitude and dietary practices. The majority of the population 55 per cent of girls had high knowledge level, 41 per cent had a medium level, and only 4% had low nutrition knowledge. The result of nutrition knowledge depicts that nutrition knowledge was not poor, but the population followed the wrong practices for food consumption. So, it is recommended to carry out campaigns in order to motivate the girls to follow good dietary practices.