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Blum et al. Maternal & Child Nutrition. May 2019.

To understand individual, social, and environmental factors that influence eating behaviors of adolescent females in Bangladesh, researchers conducted this qualitative study, which found that household food insecurity, gender norms and discrimination, work and school schedules, and an inferior social position influence girls' level of psychological stress as well as food quality, quantity, and frequency. The study found that household food insecurity, gender norms and discrimination, work and school schedules, and an inferior social position influence their level of psychological stress as well as food quality, quantity, and frequency. To decrease adolescent girls’ vulnerability to undernutrition, the study proposes: 1) policies to increase the age of marriage and reduce adolescent pregnancy, 2) programs to ensure adolescents attending school receive adequate nutrition during the day, and 3) methods for prolonging school education to strengthen their economic viability and alter cultural expectations.