A Comparative Study Of The Mental Fatigue Status Of Anemic And Non Anemic Adolescent Girls

Abstract

Background: The past decades have witnessed that malnutrition in general and anaemia in particular strongly limits the physical endurance and causes mental fatigue among the adolescents. The ultimate work capacity of any individual can only be assessed by his/her mental and physical performance. Aim: Keeping this aspect in mind present study has been designed to assess mental fatigue and energy expenditure of the anaemic adolescent girls, in comparison to their non anaemic counterparts. Material and Method: The study proceeded with the selection of 300 adolescent girls among them 100 were non anaemic (Hb level > 12 gm %) and 200 were anaemic (Hb level < 12 gm %), aged 13"17 years, by random sampling method. All the subject girls belonged to different schools of Indore city. Mental fatigue has been assessed by using mental st th fatigue sorting chart in terms of letter ticked at 1^st min, 5^th min, and total and % of correct letter identification at during same intervals respectively. Results: The study revealed that the mental fatigue level of the anaemic girls was higher than the non anaemic girls in terms of correct % of letters and no. of mistake made in mental fatigue shorting test. The anaemic group had lower mean no. of letters ticked in 1 min and with higher no. of mistakes done in identification of the right letters ticked which further repeated in the 5 min also. Conclusion: Study reveals that anaemia has played some role in mental fatigue level of the girls. Proper strategies could be made to eliminate this nutritional problem amongst them with better pace and guide them to attain full potential growth and healthy life.