Effectiveness of a Selected Nutritional Intervention Strategy to Improve Haemoglobin Levels and Reduce Anaemia Prevalence Among School-Going Girls in Lucknow: A Quasi-Experimental Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53926/YNJR/0022Keywords:
Adolescent girls, anaemia, iron deficiency, haemoglobin, nutritional intervention, rice flakes, soyabean, school healthAbstract
Background: Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) remains a major public health concern among adolescent girls in India, with national prevalence estimates ranging from 40% to 65.7%. School-going girls represent a particularly vulnerable subgroup owing to the heightened iron demands of pubertal growth, the onset of menstruation, and limited dietary diversity. Food-based interventions using locally available, iron-rich food combinations offer a feasible and culturally acceptable approach to address this persistent nutritional deficit.
Objectives: This study aimed to: (1) assess the prevalence of anaemia among school-going girls aged 9–16 years in a selected government school in Lucknow; (2) evaluate the effectiveness of a structured nutritional intervention comprising rice flakes and soyabean chunks in improving haemoglobin levels; and (3) examine the association between haemoglobin levels and selected demographic variables.
Methods: A quasi-experimental one-group pre-test/post-test design was employed. Forty girls aged 9–16 years with haemoglobin below 10 g/dL were enrolled from a selected school, Lucknow, using non-probability consecutive sampling. A daily nutritional supplement comprising 50 g rice flakes and 50 g soyabean chunks was administered for three consecutive weeks. Haemoglobin levels were measured before and after the intervention using Sahli's haemoglobinometer. Anaemia severity was classified according to National Cancer Institute (NCI) criteria. Data were analysed using paired t-test and chi-square (χ²) test at the 0.05 level of significance.
Results: Prior to intervention, no selected participant had normal haemoglobin; 22.5% had mild, 52.5% moderate, and 25.0% severe anaemia. After the three-week intervention, 50.0% of participants achieved healthy haemoglobin levels, 22.5% had mild anaemia, and 27.5% moderate anaemia; no cases of severe or life-threatening anaemia were recorded. Mean haemoglobin increased significantly from 8.27 g/dL to 10.46 g/dL, representing a mean gain of 2.19 g/dL (t = 22.275, p < 0.001). No statistically significant associations were observed between haemoglobin levels and the tested demographic variables.
Conclusion: A three-week daily provision of rice flakes and soyabean chunks produced a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in haemoglobin levels among anaemic school girls in Lucknow. These findings support the integration of low-cost, culturally acceptable, food-based strategies into school health programmes as a complement to existing national anaemia-control initiatives.
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