title: A Cross-Sectional Study on the Diet and Nutritional Status of Adolescent Girls in Zambézia Province, Mozambique (the ZANE Study): Design, Methods, and Population Characteristics.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is very little published work on dietary intake and nutritional status of Mozambicans. We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study on the diet and nutritional status of adolescent girls in different types of communities in Zambézia Province, Central Mozambique, in two distinct seasons.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this paper is to present the design, methods, and study population characteristics of the Estudo do Estado Nutricional e da Dieta em Raparigas Adolescentes na Zambézia (the ZANE Study).
  
  
  METHODS
  Data was collected in January-February 2010 ("hunger season") and in May-June 2010 ("harvest season"). A total of 551 girls in the age group 14-19 years old were recruited from one urban area and two districts (district towns and rural villages). The study protocol included a background interview, a 24-hour dietary recall interview, a food frequency questionnaire, anthropometric measurements, bioimpedance, hemoglobin measurement, and venous blood, urine, buccal cell, and fecal sampling.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Adolescent motherhood was common in all study regions. Stunting prevalence for the total study population as a weighted percentage was 17.8% (95/549; 95% CI 14.3-22.0) with no regional differences. Overweight was found mainly in the urban area where the prevalence was 12.6% (20/159; 95% CI 7.5-17.6), thinness was rare. There were regional differences in the prevalence of malaria parasitemia and intestinal helminth infestation, but not human immunodeficiency virus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The fully analyzed data from the ZANE Study will yield results useful for setting priorities in nutrition policy and further research on the diet and nutritional status in Mozambique and other countries with similar nutritional problems.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01944891; http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01944891 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6L9OUrsq8).
authors.affiliation: Division of Nutrition, Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. liisa.korkalo@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Liisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Korkalo
authors.forename: Riitta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Freese
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fidalgo
authors.forename: Kerry
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Selvester
authors.forename: Carina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ismael
authors.forename: Marja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mutanen
keywords: Mozambique; adolescent girls; cross-sectional study; diet; methods; nutritional status; sub-Saharan Africa