Rama Kawade were identified, which explained about 55.1% of the variance (Table 1). The patterns were characterised by typical combination of major cereal with food subgroups, namely (1) Rice meal, (2) Snack type meal, (3) Wheat meal, (4) Pearl millet meal and (5) Sorghum meal (61). These five diet patterns were evaluated with respect to healthy food intakes using Mann Whitney test. The results indicated that consumption of healthy foods mainly whole grains, sprouts and vegetables were high in Wheat, Pearl millet or Sorghum-based patterns than the Rice meal and the Snacks type meal (p B0.05). In general, girls with the Rice meal and the Snacks type meal had low micronutrient intakes and low intake of bio-available zinc and iron than girls from other diet patterns (p B0.05). However, all diet patterns were deficient in micronutrients including zinc when compared with the RDI (24, 66); mainly due to low intakes of healthy foods by the girls. Development of recipes to increase total and dialysable zinc content Recipes were devised considering the dietary habits of the girls and representing each of the five diet patterns. Recipes were formulated (1) using foods that have high zinc contents such as pearl millet, chick peas, soybean, rajma, green gram, amaranthus seeds and onion stalks (54). Amongst the zinc-rich foods, selection was made on the basis of higher bio-availability (32) and local avail- ability; (2) zinc density of the recipes was increased by using small amounts of sesame, amaranthus and pump- kin seeds; and (3) using methods like sprouting/fermenta- tion, which increase the bio-availability of recipes. The new zinc rich recipes were analysed in the laboratory for their nutrient content. Zinc content was determined by using atomic absorption spectrometer. In vitro zinc, dialysability of the recipes was determined by simulating gastrointestinal conditions and atomic absorp- tion spectrometry (model 3110, Perkin Elmer, Norwalk, CT, USA). Contents of b-carotene and vitamin C were measured by spectrophotometry (Beckman Coulter, Inc. Brea, CA, USA) as described in NIN manual [55]. Energy, protein, calcium and iron contents were com- puted using the Indian national database of nutrient composition of raw foods (54) and adjusting for observed moisture contents of cooked recipes. Average energy and protein content per 100 g of cooked weight of the recipes was 205 kcal and 2.5 mg, respectively. Average content of zinc was 1.5 mg/100 g of cooked weight, which was three times more than the observed average daily intake (0.47 mg/ 100 g cooked weight) of the girls. Average zinc dialysability of the recipes was 18.3%, which was observed to be higher than 11% dialysability of the diets consumed by the girls. Our recipes were prepared using vegetarian sources of zinc. The zinc-rich snacks containing meat developed for 6 (page number not for citation purpose) Kenyan schoolchildren provided 2.89 mg/225 g of zinc (37), which was similar to the zinc content of proposed study (3.3 mg/225 g). Thus, consumption of these new recipes as a supplement to the existing diet has potential to improve zinc intake of the vegetarian girls. Contents of iron, calcium, b-carotene and vitamin C were 6.2 g, 105 mg, 716 mg and 4.4 mg, respectively. Comparison of means by the Kruskal Wallis test in- dicated that the mean content of micronutrients such as iron, b-carotene, vitamin C of new recipes were signifi- cantly higher than the observed intakes of the girls (p B0.01). Therefore, modification in the existing diet using these recipes can increase micronutrient intakes of the girls. Development of a diet quality index with special reference to micronutrient adequacy for adolescent girls For assessing dietary inadequacies of zinc and other micronutrients, especially in vegetarian populations, a simple tool such as micronutrient quality index is required to identify at-risk individuals. It is important to consider the content as well as bio-availability of micronutrients for evaluation of dietary adequacy. We have developed Adolescent Micronutrient Quality Index (AMQI) to classify an individual with nutritional defi- ciencies (Paper III) (62) using the Indian dietary guide- lines (24) and the recent US dietary guidelines for choice of healthy foods and habits (23). Food intake data collected through 24-hour recall method for 3 days were utilised to develop the AMQI. Information about fre- quency of consuming sprouts, fermented foods and habit of taking tea with meals was utilised to judge bio- available intakes. Efficacy of the AMQI was assessed by studying its associations with nutrient intakes, micronu- trient adequacy ratio, body mass index and plasma biomarkers of b-carotene, vitamin C and zinc. The AMQI is divided into 13 components, where each component represents a specific grouping of foods. Seven components measured the degree of compliance, with recommendations for the major food groups such as cereals and millets, legumes, milk and milk products, vegetables, fruits, sugar and visible fats/oils. Six compo- nents relate to healthy eating and micronutrient bio- availability such as adherence to at least 50% consump- tion of whole grains and micronutrient-dense legumes (i.e. chick pea, moth beans, lentil), food variety (23, 26, 70, 71), use of practices enhancing bio-availability and component to evaluate excess fried food intake (71). Each component was scored from zero indicating lack of adherence to its maximum score for full adherence, with intermediate scores calculated to indicate the degree of adherence with dietary recommendations. The total score ranged from 0 (worst) to 100 (best). Citation: Glob Health Action 2012, 5: 7353 - DOI: 10.3402/gha.v5i0.7353