Assessment of dietary habits and nutritional status of adolescent girls in coastal regions of Bangladesh with poor water quality, considering the potential implications for micronutrient

Assessment of dietary habits and nutritional status of adolescent girls in coastal regions of Bangladesh with poor water quality, considering the potential implications for micronutrient | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Assessment of dietary habits and nutritional status of adolescent girls in coastal regions of Bangladesh with poor water quality, considering the potential implications for micronutrient Md. Ripon Ali Sarkar, Dilruba Easmin Jharna, Md. Golam Rabbani Akanda, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8578084/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 26 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition → Version 1 posted 18 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Objective: This study aimed to investigate dietary practices, nutritional status and micronutrient intakes of adolescent girls residing in coastal areas of Bangladesh. Design: It was descriptive cross-sectional study design. Data were collected through household interviews employing a structured questionnaire that included socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge and beliefs, 24-hour dietary recall, dietary history, anthropometric measurements, and Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) practices. Setting: The study was carried out in four coastal districts (Patuakhali, Bagerhat, Noakhali, and Cox’s Bazar) of Bangladesh. Participants: A total of 640 adolescent girls aged 11–19 years were surveyed by trained female interviewers. Results: The results indicated that normal weight (Body mass index (BMI)-for-age ≥ −2 SD to ≤ +1 SD), obesity ((BMI-for-age > +2 SD), overweight (BMI-for-age > +1 SD), severe thinness (BMI-for-age < −3 SD) and thinness (BMI-for-age < −2 SD) respectively72.3%, 2.2%,10.9%, 5.8%, and 8.8%. Analysis of height-for-age revealed that 86.1% were within the normal (Height-for-Age Z-score ≥ -2 SD) range and 13.9% were of stunted (Height-for-Age Z-score < -2 SD) growth. Nutritional status was significantly associated with family income, food intake, dietary knowledge, and hygiene practices. Over half (51.8%) lacked awareness of essential micronutrients, and 48.6% demonstrated indifference toward daily diet. Inadequate MHM facilities affected 51.6% of respondents, and 58.8% of school-going girls missed classes during menstruation. Conclusion: The findings underscore the urgent need for adolescent-centered nutrition education, improved MHM infrastructure, and targeted socioeconomic interventions to enhance dietary behavior and nutritional well-being among coastal girls in Bangladesh. Adolescent girls Dietary knowledge Micronutrients Nutrition Coastal Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files ResearchQuestion.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 26 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 14 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 13 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 12 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 09 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 06 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 30 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 28 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 27 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8578084","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":589007022,"identity":"0aea72dd-e0d1-428d-8156-011bdec72dab","order_by":0,"name":"Md. 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Data were collected through household interviews employing a structured questionnaire that included socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge and beliefs, 24-hour dietary recall, dietary history, anthropometric measurements, and Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) practices.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSetting: \u003c/strong\u003eThe study was carried out in four coastal districts (Patuakhali, Bagerhat, Noakhali, and Cox’s Bazar) of Bangladesh.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eParticipants:\u003c/strong\u003e A total of 640 adolescent girls aged 11–19 years were surveyed by trained female interviewers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults:\u003c/strong\u003e The results indicated that normal weight (Body mass index (BMI)-for-age ≥ −2 SD to ≤ +1 SD), obesity ((BMI-for-age \u0026gt; +2 SD), overweight (BMI-for-age \u0026gt; +1 SD), severe thinness (BMI-for-age \u0026lt; −3 SD) and thinness (BMI-for-age \u0026lt; −2 SD) respectively72.3%, 2.2%,10.9%, 5.8%, and 8.8%. Analysis of height-for-age revealed that 86.1% were within the normal (Height-for-Age Z-score ≥ -2 SD) range and 13.9% were of stunted (Height-for-Age Z-score \u0026lt; -2 SD) growth. Nutritional status was significantly associated with family income, food intake, dietary knowledge, and hygiene practices. Over half (51.8%) lacked awareness of essential micronutrients, and 48.6% demonstrated indifference toward daily diet. 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