Objective To determine the prevalence of malnutrition among adolescent girls and to assess the association of nutrition with sociodemographic variables.

Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescent girls aged 16–19 years. Data regarding sociodemographic variables were collected by administration of a prestructured, pretested questionnaire. Height and weight were measured by standardized techniques in a sample of 700 adolescents. BMI was calculated. IBM SPSS Statistics version 22 was used to determine proportions and for chi-square analysis, independence tests, and binary logistic regression.

Results We found 36.2% of adolescent girls were malnourished, among whom 33.7% were obese and 66.3% were undernourished.

Conclusion Age and education of the mother and father were found to be significantly associated with malnutrition.

Significance statement This article contributes to the field of adolescent nutrition and also adds to the understanding of socio-demographic variables that might be contributing to malnutrition in the age group between 16–19 years (late adolescence). Many countries, including India, have introduced nutritional programs for the improvement of nutrition in adolescents. Such studies like ours would help to evaluate the progress made by such programs, and also by identifying the factors contributing towards malnutrition, would help the planning and implementation of better programs towards specific target groups. Since adolescents form the future of any country, focusing on adolescent nutrition, which has major health implications in the life cycle of an individual, is the need of the hour, more so when it comes to developing countries.