Anthropometric evaluation of adolescents from 12 to 19 years of age

Malnutrition in the adolescent population is an important risk factor that influences physical and mental development, in addition to predisposing to morbidity in adulthood. In Honduras, despite the estimated number of orphans of parents at social risk is around five thousand, there is no information available on the nutritional status of orphaned/at social risk adolescents, which makes it difficult for authorities and charitable organizations to identify nutritional problems and implement strategies. To remedy this, a descriptive and cross-sectional study was implemented to characterize the nutritional status through anthropometric determinations and dietary pattern of 30 orphans or adolescents at social risk housed in homes managed by a responsible part of a charitable organization such as the SOS Villages franchise located in the city of Tegucigalpa, Honduras during 2016 and which included anthropometric assessment and application of self-administered questionnaire of dietary pattern and physical activity (PAQ-A).