Overweight and Obesity among Children of Affluent Public School in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

In developing countries such as India, especially in urban population and affluent children, obesity is emerging as a major health problem. The magnitude of overweight ranges from 9% to 27.5% and obesity ranges from 1% to 12.9% among Indian children. To know the prevalence of overweight & obesity in affluent school children aged between 11–16 years and to analyze the association between overweight/obesity with physical activity. A cross sectional study was carried out in 2 affluent schools of Allahabad city –Maharshi Patanjali Vidya Mandir and Tagore Public School. A total of 1146, school children studying between 6th and 11th standard aged between 11 to 16 years were studied and data regarding time spent on television viewing, sleeping, playing computer/video games, indoor games, outdoor games and physical exercises was recorded in a pre designed and pre tested questionnaire. Out of 1146 school children 223 (19.5%) and 119 (10.4%) were overweight and obese respectively. The overall prevalence of overweight and obesity in affluent school children of 11–16 years was estimated to be 29.9%. Proportion of overweight and obesity was more in boys (20.7% and 12.2%) than girls (17.8% and 8.0%).