Debebe, Zelalem (PhD)Abebe, Frehun2021-03-312023-11-092021-03-312023-11-092020-02-08http://10.90.10.223:4000/handle/123456789/25836Background: Anemia is significantly wide spread public health threat especially among adolescent girls who are more vulnerable to low level of hemoglobin (Hb). Adolescence is a period of accelerated growth and development and therefore demand of dietary nutrient intake during this period is higher than the period preceding it. In addition to this females may start their menstrual period during this time, which may add to the loss of nutrients via menstrual blood lost monthly. Addressing both the increased requirement and added loss are covered nutritionally ensures that adolescents growth and development continues unaffected to get them to healthier adulthood. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of anaemia and its association with Body Mass Index and Dietary Diversity scores, in adolescent school girls between the age of 10-19yrs in AkakiKalitySubcity, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methodology: A cross-sectional study design using multi-stage sampling technique was employed. A total of 417 sample size was estimated and the sampled, students were proportionally allocated to each selected schools based on their total adolescent girls population. Structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-economic and demographic characteristics of participants. Data were entered and analysedusing spss version 19. Anthropometric data was computed by WHO Anthro- plus 2007 software. Dietary diversity score was collected by using 24-hour recall technique. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to test the association between dependent and independent variables. For all statistical tests, significance level was set at p-value of <0.05. Result: Among the 417 study participants the finding shows a mean hemoglobin level of 12.9±1.07 g/dl with the range from 9.9 to 16.9 g/dl. The prevalence mild anemia among school girls age between 15 to 19 was found to be 54(12.9 %) and 2(0.5%) moderately anemic the rest 361(86.6%) had normal Hb level and there was no case of severe anemia indentified in the study. Those study participants who have a meal skipping habit and underweight were 2.1 and 3.2 times respectively, more likely to be anemic than with those who did not skip meals or had with normal BMI. Conclusion: The present study revealed anemia to be mild public health problem (13.4%) in the school going adolescent girls. In this population, anemia was significantly correlated with BMI and dietary pattern.enAdolescent Girls BmiDdsDietary PatternAnemiaThesis