High Glycemic Food Consumption and Nutritional Status among Adolescents in Abbottabad, Pakistan

OBJECTIVES The study aimed to investigate the correlation between high glycemic food consumption and nutritional status among adolescent students in government and private schools. METHODOLOGY A cross-sectional study was conducted over 6 months on 350 adolescent students aged 14 to 19 years studying in government and private schools, selected through simple random sampling in Abbottabad between January 2025 and June 2025. Nutritional status was assessed through selective anthropometric measurements, while glycemic loads were calculated using standard parameters from a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). SPSS 26 version was used for descriptive and inferential analysis RESULTS Among 350 students of 14 to 19 years included (53%) male and (47%) female students of Govt School (53.8%) and Private school (46.2%) students,205 girls participated in the study. Results show that the minimum weight of the participants was 41 kg, with a maximum of 84 kg and a mean of 57.25 kg. The minimum height was 132 cm, and the maximum was 185 cm, with a mean of 162.97 cm. Waist circumference was minimum 65 cm and maximum 95 cm, with a mean of 76 cm, and (σ) was 6.69. Hip circumference was minimum 78.5 cm and maximum 100 cm, with a mean of 86.46 cm, and (σ) was 4.41. Waist/Hip ratio was minimum 0.76 cm and maximum 0.97 with a mean of .88, and (σ) was. 055. Glycemic load was 94, with a minimum and maximum of 168, with 120.42 mean and a standard deviation (σ) of 13.15. Z scores were 1.67, the minimum and maximum were 2.74, and the standard deviation (σ) was 10.0. Z-scores and Glycemic loads also showed a correlation with p-values of 0.5. However, with a p-value of 0.02, a robust correlation was found between the waist-hip ratio and Glycemic loads of foods. Additionally, p-values of 0.03 with a correlation coefficient of 0.2 and p-values of 0.00 in a 2-tailed test showed a strong correlation. Key Words: Anthropometric measurements, circumference, Correlation, FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire, Glycemic loads.