Associations of meal patterning, dietary quality and diversity with anemia and overweight-obesity among Indonesian school-going adolescent girls in West Java

Poor diet is a risk factor for anemia, overweight, and obesity among adolescent girls. However, comprehensive assessment on dietary quality and habits in this population is limited. We assessed the association of meal patterning, dietary quality, and dietary diversity with both anemia and overweight-obesity. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in 335 school-going adolescent girls aged 12-19 years from three districts in West Java using multi-stage cluster sampling. Meal patterning, Dietary Quality Index for Adolescents (DQI-A), and Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) were determined using 2-day 24-h recall. Of the girls, 45% were anemic and 17% overweight or obese. Eating occasions of 3-4 times (AOR 2.68, 95% CI 1.21-5.98) and >4 times (AOR 2.43, 95% CI 1.01-5.83) were associated with greater odds of developing anemia compared to eating occasions of