Food Consumption Pattern, and Anthropometric Status of Secondary School Students (Adolescents) in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria

<title>Abstract</title> <p> <bold>Background</bold> Nutrition transition is globally increasing among adolescents and has been linked to the prevalence of childhood and adolescent overweight/obesity. The nutritional status of adolescents contributes significantly to the nutritional status of the community. <bold>Objective</bold> This study assessed the socio-economic/demographic characteristics; determined the food consumption methods, dietary diversity, and anthropometric status; and identified the association between dietary diversity and anthropometric indicators of secondary school students (adolescents) in the Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria. <bold>Methodology</bold> This study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional study design with a sample size of 204 secondary school students (adolescents). Three (3) secondary schools each from both public and private secondary schools and students were randomly selected. Student information was collected using a questionnaire. Food consumption patterns and anthropometric status were assessed using a 24-hour dietary recall, height, weight, waist, and hip circumference. SPSS was used for data analysis. Correlation was used to assess the association between dietary diversity and anthropometric indicators. <bold>Results</bold> The study findings revealed that participants ages between 13 and 15 years were the most dominant (54.9%). The majority (70.6%) of respondents ate thrice a day, and 51.5% took pocket money to school for lunch. The majority (88.2%) of the adolescents consumed foods from most of the food groups except organ meat (38.2%). 88.2% had a high food consumption score, with 90.7% of the males having a higher food consumption score than the females. The majority (88.7%) of adolescents had a high dietary diversity score. The prevalence of stunting, thinness, overweight/obesity, and malnutrition (MUAC) was 14.2%, 3.9%, 9.3%, and 37.3%, respectively. <bold>Conclusion</bold> However, there was no significant (&lt; 0.05) relationship between the anthropometric indicators and Dietary Diversity Scores (DDS). </p>