Gender differentials in undernutrition among Tanzanian adolescents: a rural‐urban comparison (LB475)

Background: Urban population growth has outpaced expectations in developing countries, changing physical, social, and economic landscapes with implications on health across gender. Comparative studies on gender differences in nutritional status by geographic location present mixed findings. Objective: This study examines gender differentials in undernutrition across rural‐urban residence in a sample of Tanzanian adolescents. Methods: This cross‐sectional study examines predictors of poor nutritional status across urban and rural adolescents aged 10‐14 (n=892) in Tanzania. Undernutrition was classified as BMI for Age <5th percentile of the NCHS/WHO reference. Logistic regression analysis tested the association between undernutrition, gender, and urban‐rural residence after adjusting for covariates. Results: The prevalence of undernutrition was 23.7 % among rural and 11.8% among urban adolescents (p<0.05). Among males, prevalence of undernutrition was 28.8% for rural and 17.5% for urban adolescents (p<0.05). The rates for rural females were 18.4% compared to 6% for urban peers (p<0.05). Overall, males more likely to be undernourished than females after adjusting for urban/rural residence and age [OR=2.15 (95%CI: 1.49, 3.09); p<0.05]. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that adolescents in rural settings experience higher rates of undernutrition than urban youth. In particular, programs and policies aiming to improve public health in Tanzania should target rural males. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether the gender differential observed in adolescent nutritional status in developing countries has a physiological explanation and whether growth trajectories differ across urban‐rural settings. Grant Funding Source : Supported by UNICEF/Tanzania, and the Commonwealth Honors College and the Department of Nutrition of the University of Massachusetts Amherst