Double or Triple Burden of Malnutrition in Turkish Adolescents: Single Center Experience

Malnutrition continues to be a health problem, especially in children. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of the double or triple burden of malnutrition in adolescents, both at the adolescent population and at the intra-individual. This retrospective study was conducted on adolescents admitted for any reason at a tertiary hospital between June 2022 and June 2023. Of the total 1126 cases, 67.3% were normal weight, 16.6% were underweight, %4.1 were stunting, 6.5% were overweight, and 9.6% were obese. It was determined that the obesity rate was significantly higher in late adolescence compared to early adolescence (p = 0.037). At least one micronutrient deficiency was detected in 42.1% of all cases, 34.2% of underweight cases, and 38.1% of obese cases. Any malnutrition was detected in 56.7% of the cases, DBM in 6.3% and TBM in 0.3%. The frequency of DBM and micronutrient deficiency was observed to be high in the adolescents in this study. The increased frequency of obesity and deficiency of vitamin D and vitamin B12 together with age showed that health problems due to the DBM will be reflected in adulthood. The planning of preventative health policies for societal health can be recommended