A Cross-sectional Study on the Prevalence of Obesity in Three Endogamous Populations of Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

To investigate and compare the prevalence of different types of obesity, the researchers recruited the Reddy, Golla, and Madiga caste populations of Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. Three hundred participants were included from each caste in this cross-sectional study. The researchers found a significantly higher prevalence of obesity (general, abdominal, and combined obesity) in women than in men (p<0.05). Golla showed a significantly higher prevalence of overweight than the Reddy population (p<0.01). Both Reddy and Golla caste populations showed significantly higher percentages of general, abdominal, combined, and isolated abdominal obesity than the Madiga caste population (p<0.01). Reddy showed higher odds of developing general, combined, and isolated general obesity than Golla whereas Golla had higher odds of developing abdominal and isolated abdominal obesity and overweight than the Reddy population (p<0.01). Predictors of different measures of obesity were found to vary in caste populations.