Factors Affecting Body Mass Index (BMI) of Sri Lankan Youth Population

Abstract

Obesity is an increasing health problem in developed countries and it is same for developing countries like Sri Lanka. Obesity can be defined as a condition where fat has accumulated to such an extent that health is adversely affected. There are several measures available in determining whether a person is obesity or not. Body Mass Index (BMI) is one of the very popular and highly used measuring techniques all around the world. A great number of studies have investigated factors related to obesity in overseas but no research work has been conducted in Sri Lankan context. This research is an attempt to identify a model which shows the relationship between BMI, demographic, socioeconomic and behavioral factors, and dietary intake in Sri Lanka youth population. As the initial stage of this study, a literature review was carried out to study about BMI. A conceptual model was developed by looking at the factors affecting person’s overweight or obesity in global context. After studying the global scenario the next step was to look at the Sri Lankan context using empirical data. A survey research approach was undertaken by means of structured questionnaires which were administered to a random sample of 243 youths. The data was analysed using both descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis. The findings show a significant association among a number of factors, overweight and obesity in Sri Lankan youth population. Regression model demonstrated that gender, marital status, family size, employment status, household income, smoking habit, alcoholic, mode of transport and routine exercise pattern affects the BMI. Being vegetarian or non-vegetarian and educational level have not being positively associated with increasing weight. Also it can be recommended that Sri Lanka should start prevention efforts before obesity extends to a larger proportion of the population.