HYDERABAD: IRON deficiency continues to be the main reason for anaemia in India. A research done at Professor Jayashankar State Agricultural University found that the problem can be tackled by educating people about nutritional value, at community and school levels, for a considerable amount of time.
The study was conducted among 300 adolescent girls aged between 13 and 17 years with haemoglobin levels below 12mg/100ml. The girls were picked from four villages in Moinabad mandal of Rajendranagar district. It was found that there was a slight improvement in haemoglobin levels in the girls after four months of intensive nutritional education intervention.
The study showed that nutrient intake of the selected students had increased after the intervention. The experiment divided the 300 participants into two equal groups—one experimental group and one control group. The experimental group was given nutritional education while the control group was not. At the end, it was observed that intake of nutrition had increased in the experimental group.
“Nutrients, fat, energy, calcium, iron and riboflavin intake was significantly higher in experimental group when compared with the control group,” the study said. The experimental group had also increased the intake of roots and tubers, leafy vegetables, nuts and oilseed, milk and milk products. There was also significant increase in the awareness of students after the four-month nutritional education.