Objective: Adolescence is a vulnerable period of life as health related behaviours that drive the major chronic degenerative diseases start or are reinforced during this time. Dietary habits of adolescents play a significant role in determining both their present and future health. The present study is an attempt to assess the impact of dietary habits on physical status among adolescents of Uttar Pradesh, India.

Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study using a self administered questionnaire was carried out among 300 adolescents aged 10-19 years from prominent districts of Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow, Prayagaraj, Gorakhpur, Ghaziabad, Varanasi). The socio-demographic profile, anthropometric measurements (height & weight) and dietary habits using simplified dietary gap assessment tool recommeneded by ICMR/NIN were recorded. The physical status of the adolescents was categorized as per WHO-BMI. Based on their BMI, underweight, normal and overweight adolescents were identified. Chi-square test using SPSS 22 software was employed to assess the association between dietary habits and BMI status.

Results: Overall, the adolescents reported poor dietary intakes; over one quarter (38%) reported not consumption of three main meals and (81.3%) reported skipping their regular meals. Nearly one third of the adolescents do not consume any servings of fruits daily. The results revealed that consuming junk food and buying eatables from street shops were considerably high in all the adolescents. More adolescents falling into the overweight/obese category were found to have poor eating habits, such as missing meals, consuming junk food, or buying eatables from street shops. Male adolescents were found to consume fruit and green leafy vegetables more often than female individuals. In general, boys consumed more nutrient-rich diets than girls.

Conclusion: The adolescents reported poor food consumption patterns, and the poor dietary choices significantly impact the physical status of adolescents. The study findings highlight the need to develop strategies for promoting good nutrition and creating awareness to encourage healthy eating in adolescence.