Abstract
Background: Medical education is stressful throughout the whole course. Due to the medical curriculum and the examination pattern leads to psychological stress. Stressful condition leads to irregularity in diet, frequent fast food consumption & lack of exercise, each being considered as an important risk factor leading to overweight and obesity. Hence, this study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of obesity, overweight and weight awareness among the medical students.
 Objectives: Determination of BMI status of undergraduate medical students to evaluate their weight awareness, prevalence of overweight and obesity and also find out the relationship of the following risk factors with obesity & overweight; i) Opinion about self-image, ii) Physical activity and iii) Frequency of fast food consumption.
 Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted on 131 preclinical medical students of Ad-din Akij Medical College, Khulna from January 2018 to April 2018. Height and weight of 131 preclinical students were measured and Body Mass Index was calculated and categorized according to WHO criteria.
 Results: Out of 131 students 62% come under normal weight category, 21% come under overweight category, 10% come under obese category and 7% come under underweight category.
 Conclusion: Overweight is a rising problem among the medical students. Sedentary life style and frequency of fast food consumption was high among the overweight and obese students. This study itself created awareness about their weight and promote physical activity among the medical students.
 Mediscope Vol. 7, No. 2: July 2020, Page 103-107
Highlights
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated in the body and produces adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and in creased health problems.[1]
The mean BMI of the male students 22.51±1.75 and females 23.74±1.42, the prevalence of overweight was 21.37% and the obesity was 9.92% while 61.83% were within normal range and 6.87% were underweight (Figure 02) according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines
81.25% female & 74.50% male students thought that they were appropriate in weight while 10% female & 11.76% male student’s felt that they were overweight
Summary
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated in the body and produces adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and in creased health problems.[1]. Studies on medical students and health personnel in many countries, suggest that obesity is a problem among these population groups.[3] The professional students, including medical students are in a high risk side when obesity is concerned. This is mainly because of the modernization and industrialization which has lead to sedentary life style and unhealthy eating pattern.[4] Besides, underweight is another cause resulting in certain diseases like malnutrition, anemia, mortality and morbidity. This study itself created awareness about their weight and promote physical activity among the medical students
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