WORKSHOP ON MENSTURAL HYGIENE FOR GIRLS

PM SHRI KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA JOSHIMATH

ORGANISED A WORKSHOP

MENSTRUAL HYGIENE

FOR GIRLS

Adolescents should be encouraged to consume iron rich foods (green leafy vegetables, jaggery, meat) complemented with a Vitamin C source like Citrus fruits (oranges, lemon) and Indian gooseberry (Amla). Adolescent girls need additional requirement of Iron to compensate for menstrual blood loss.

Introduction to nutrition in adolescent girls

Adolescence is the transition period between childhood and adulthood, a window of opportunity for the improvement of nutritional status and correcting poor nutritional practices. This is about the same period puberty sets in, typically between the ages of 10 and 13 years in girls. Adolescence is characterised by the growth spurt, a period in which growth is very fast. During this time, physical changes affect the body’s nutritional needs, while changes in one’s lifestyle may affect eating habits and food choices. Adolescent nutrition is therefore important for supporting the physical growth of the body and for preventing future health problems. All parents should therefore pay particular attention to the nutritional needs of their teenagers.

Why nutrition is essential for adolescent girls

Any nutritional deficiency experienced during this critical period of life can have an effect on the future health of the individual and their offspring. For example, failure to consume an adequate diet at this time can result in delayed sexual maturation and delayed or retarded physical growth. The rapid physical changes of adolescence have a direct influence on a person’s nutritional needs. The growth spurt that occurs in adolescence, second only to that in the first year of life, creates increased demands for energy and nutrients. Nutritional status and physical growth are dependent on one another such that optimal nutrition is a requisite for achieving full growth potential.

Nutrition of the adolescent girl is particularly important but under-nutrition (too little food or food lacking required nutrients) in adolescents frequently goes unnoticed by their families or the young people themselves. Adolescence is a time to prepare for the nutritional demands of pregnancy and lactation that girls may experience in later life. Under-nutrition negatively affects adolescent girls by:

Affecting their ability to learn and work at maximum productivity;
Increasing the risk of poor obstetric outcomes for teen mothers;
Arresting the healthy development of future children;
Affecting sexual maturation and growth: and
Preventing the attainment of normal bone strength and the development of healthy teeth if a youth doesn’t get enough calcium.

It is also a well established fact that children born to short, thin women are more likely themselves to be stunted and underweight (low weight for age). What is more worrying therefore is that the negative effects of adolescent malnutrition persist throughout a woman’s reproductive life. Dietary reference intakes (DRIs) developed by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) provide current quantitative estimates of nutrient intakes to be used for planning and assessing diets for healthy people, including adolescents. The important nutrients that need to increase during adolescence include energy, protein, calcium, and iron.

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