Prevalence of obesity and its determinants among adolescents in a rural population of Uttar Pradesh, India–A cross–sectional study

Col(Dr) KC Verma; Dr(Col) Rajendra Kumar; Neetika

Volume : VI, Issue : V, May - 2016

Prevalence of obesity and its determinants among adolescents in a rural population of Uttar Pradesh, India–A cross–sectional study

Col Dr Kc Verma, Dr Col Rajendra Kumar, Neetika

Abstract :

Objective: To find out the prevalence of obesity and its determinants among adolescents in a rural population of Uttar Pradesh, India–A cross–sectional study Methods: Data was collected by interviewer–administered method adolescents aged between 15 to 19 years. The sample consisted of 502 subjects. Overweight and obesity were defined by body mass index (BMI) based on the earlier recommendations. The demographic and dietary intake data was collected on pre–designed questionnaire. Results: The prevalence of obesity was 7% (35/502) being higher in male than females. The percentage of underweight and overweight was found to be 15.3% and 14.3% respectively. The age of the subjects and 24 hour dietary intake were found to be significantly associated with the prevalence of obesity. Conclusion: The data of this study revealed that the trend of adolescent overweight and obesity is a worrying phenomenon in the national perspective. The findings of the study strongly advocate the need to implement interventional measures for preventing adolescent overweight and obesity