High burden of anaemia exists amongst rural adolescent girls in India. The objective of this study was to characterise anaemia in school going adolescent girls in rural Haryana, India.

Linear and multiple logistic regression analysis of data collected prior to an intervention trial was conducted. Participants were classified into anaemic (haemoglobin <12 g/dl) and non-anaemic group and were further classified into deficiencies of Fe, folate or vitamin B12, mixed, anaemia of other causes and inflammation.

Three schools in Ballabgarh block of Faridabad District, Haryana, India.

One hundered and ninety-eight non-anaemic and 202 anaemic adolescent girls (12–19 years).

Anaemic girls had 29·6 % Fe deficiency, 28·1 % folate or vitamin B12 deficiency, 15·8 % mixed deficiency and 9·7 % acute inflammation. Anaemia of other causes was found in 16·8 % of the anaemic participants. Girls with Fe and isolated folate deficiency had 2·5 times and four times higher odds of developing anaemia, respectively, as compared with non-anaemic girls. Fe deficiency with no anaemia was found amongst 11 % non-anaemic girls. Non-anaemic girls had a high prevalence of combined deficiency of folate or vitamin B12 (29·5 %) and acute inflammation (14·4 %).

The current strategy of Fe and folic acid supplementation alone will not suffice for achieving the desired reduction in the prevalence of anaemia as unknown causes and anaemia of inflammation contribute to a substantial proportion of anaemia. Integrating other nutrition-specific components like improving water, sanitation and hygiene practices with the ongoing micronutrient supplementation program will comprehensively tackle anaemia. Unknown causes of anaemia warrant further research.

High prevalence of Malnutrition exists amongst the geriatric population in India. Evidence on malnutrition is available from the plain regions of the country. However there is lack of scientific evidence on malnutrition status of geriatric population residing at high altitude regions of Uttarakhand, India.

A community based cross-sectional study was conducted during 2015–2016 in District Nainital. Thirty clusters were identified using population proportionate to size sampling method; 30 geriatric subjects were selected from each cluster. Study population included 980 geriatric aged 60 years and above. Nutritional status of the geriatric population was assessed using Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) tool. Standard procedures were used to determine the height, weight, MCC and MUAC. The BMI was calculated from the measurements of weight (kg) and height (cm) (kg/m2). Data was entered in MS Excel 2007 and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0.

The MNA revealed that only 22.4% geriatric subjects had satisfactory nutritional status, 14.3% were malnourished and 63.3% were “at risk” of malnutrition. High prevalence of malnutrition was found among subjects belonging to age group of 60–70 years (58.9%), illiterate (74.5%) with family monthly income (1866–5546;43.3%), financially dependent (75.2%), with loss of appetite (71.6%), with chewing problem (63.1%) and who consumed < 2 full meals daily. (73.1%; all p < 0.0001;) in comparison to the subjects who had satisfactory nutritional status.

The present findings revealed that the high prevalence of malnutrition amongst the geriatric population in India. The risk factors identified were financial dependency, dietary intake, loss of appetite and chewing problem. Interventions to decrease these risk factors possibly may lead to reduction in malnutrition among geriatric population.

To assess the prevalence and risk factors of underweight, overweight and obesity among a geriatric population living in a high-altitude region of India.

Community-based cross-sectional study. Data were collected on sociodemographic profile and anthropometric parameters. Weight and height measurements were utilized for calculation of BMI. Nutrient intake data were collected using 24 h dietary recall.

High-altitude region of Nainital District, Uttarakhand State, North India.

Community-dwelling geriatric subjects (n 981) aged 60 years or above.

We found that 26·6 % of the elderly subjects were underweight (BMI<18·5 kg/m2). Overweight (BMI 25·0–29·9 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI≥30·0 kg/m2) was seen among 18·0 % and 4·6 %, respectively. After controlling for potential cofounders, risk factors such as low level of education and income, chewing problems and lower number of daily meals were found to be associated with underweight. On the other hand, risk factors for overweight/obesity were lower age, high income and unskilled work.

There is a need to develop and implement intervention strategies to prevent underweight, overweight and obesity among the geriatric population of India.