Associations between plant and animal protein intake and anthropometric
indices among school-aged girls in Kabul Afghanistan
Abstract
Background: Adolescent girls in Afghanistan have high levels of food
insecurity, yet little is known about their dietary intakes. Therefore,
we aimed to study the association between dietary protein intake and
anthropometric indices among adolescent girls in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 380 adolescent girls at
16 government schools from eight randomly sampled zones in Kabul. In
July 2019, we assessed dietary intake, body mass index (BMI), physical
activity and socio-demographic variables. Binary logistic regression
models were used to estimate the associations between different protein
sources (plant protein, animal protein and total protein) and stunting,
wasting, overweight and obesity. Results: Participant mean age was
14.8±2 years and mean BMI was 19.8±3.6kg/m2. The mean intakes of
carbohydrates from plant proteins, animal proteins and total proteins
were approximately 59.4±19.6gr/day, 22.3±7.3gr/day and 81.8±27.1gr/day,
respectively. Students with more highly educated fathers consumed more
plant proteins (P<0.05). Participants had overall high dietary
plant protein intake (mean 34.8±22.0g/day), with 66% from grains,
cereals and flour. We did not find an association between dietary
protein intake and stunting (OR=0.92; CI: 0.55-1.54), wasting (OR= 0.98;
CI: 0.55-1.78), overweight (OR=1.18; CI: 0.62-2.25) or obesity (OR=0.84;
CI: 0.19-3.58). Conclusion: While prior research suggests that dietary
protein intake is associated with improved nutritional and
anthropometric indices, dietary protein intake in this study was not
associated with stunting, wasting, overweight and obesity. Further
investigation is needed on this topic.