Development, Standardization And Nutritional Evaluation Of Traditional Iron-Supportive Foods Based On Dietary Habits Of Anaemic Adolescent Girls

Abstract

Iron deficiency anaemia remains one of the most prevalent nutritional disorders among adolescent girls and continues to be a major public health concern in India. Dietary practices such as meal skipping, inadequate intake of iron-rich foods, and consumption of beverages that inhibit iron absorption contribute substantially to poor iron status. The present study was undertaken to assess dietary behaviour and to develop, standardize, and nutritionally evaluate traditional iron-supportive food products using locally available nutrient-rich ingredients. The study was conducted among 243 anaemic girls aged 16–18 years from educational institutions of Panchkula district, Haryana. Dietary information was collected using a structured questionnaire. Based on identified dietary gaps, two traditional food products, namely Sautéed Amla–Moringa Veggie and Coriander–Marwa Chutney, were developed and standardized through a two-stage sensory evaluation process using a 9-point hedonic scale. Nutritional composition was calculated using the ICMR–NIN Nutritive Value of Indian Foods database. Dietary assessment revealed that 56.0% of respondents consumed only two meals per day and 43.2% frequently skipped breakfast. Daily consumption of tea, coffee, or soft drinks with meals was reported by 49.4% of participants. Lack of appetite (75.4%) and cravings for fast food (42.9%) were the major reasons for skipping meals. Among the developed products, Sautéed Amla–Moringa Veggie, containing 6 g of moringa leaf powder, and Coriander–Marwa Chutney, containing 20 g of Marwa leaves, obtained the highest sensory acceptability scores. Significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were observed among the developed formulations for most sensory attributes. Nutritional evaluation demonstrated that the standardized products provided appreciable amounts of iron, folate, calcium, and vitamin C. The findings indicate that incorporating nutrient-dense traditional ingredients such as moringa, Marwa, foxnut, and amla into acceptable food products may serve as a sustainable food-based strategy to improve dietary iron intake among adolescent girls.