More children will survive to adulthood today than at any other point in human history, as evidenced by the proportion of live births and absolute numbers. The present generation of young people who have lived to the age of five will reach adulthood around 2030 and will be the generation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These children's health and nutrition as they grow from 5 to 19 years will have permanent ramifications on the development of the coming generation. The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey was conducted between 2016 and 2018, indicating unacceptably high levels of malnutrition among Indian children and adolescents. It was discovered that one out of every five children aged 5 to 9 was stunted, indicating they were malnourished for their age. Undernourished girls are more likely to become short-statured mothers, giving birth to low-birth-weight and stunted newborns who are more prone to disease and linear growth failure. Evidence suggests that maternal short stature (less than 150 cm) predicts childhood growth failure and increases the risk of having a stunted baby by two years. The common genetic background and environmental influences that affect the mother during her early childhood and adolescence play a substantial role in the relationship between maternal stature and the linear growth of the child. This causes a cycle of undernutrition and poor growth that continues through generations and impacts the offspring's growth. Adolescence is a key period of physical and social development when the physiological, mental, and behavioural underpinnings of long-term health are established. The development of critical bone mass is crucial during this time because it lays the foundation for preserving bone mineral integrity later in life. During adolescence, over 40% of peak bone mass is achieved. Changes in body composition are also seen during early adolescence. These physiological processes are both nutritionally sensitive and predictive of their future health. Adolescent behaviour is also linked to 33 percent of sickness and 60 percent of premature deaths in adulthood. Because adolescence is also a critical period for the development of the ability to make independent decisions, follow them through, and achieve goals- enabling healthy social networks, is critical. This includes Social and Behavioural Change Communications, which can assist early adolescents create lifetime behaviour patterns, such as good nutrition and physical exercise choices. Investing in adolescent health and well-being pays off in three ways: during their adolescence, in their adulthood, and for their future offspring generations. Thus, young adolescence provides a "window of opportunity" for children to improve their nutritional health and outcomes. Therefore, this cohort aims to explore the trajectories of growth (including anthropometric measures, bone mass, and muscle mass and function) among rural young adolescents and its association with intergenerational nutritional status through a longitudinal study. A greater understanding of growth trajectories set in a longitudinal study would aid in the discovery of particular variables that influence the timing of young adolescents' growth and the factors associated with intergenerational nutritional status.
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Wasting
Timeframe: From date of enrolment, until study completion, assessed every 6 months
Stunting
Timeframe: From date of enrolment, until study completion, assessed every 6 months