Prevalence Of Overweight And Obesity In A Private School Of Orissa, India

Abstract

Obesity has become a major epidemic causing serious public health concern and contributes to 2.6 million deaths worldwide every year. In developing countries such as India, especially in urban populations and affluent children, obesity is emerging as a major health problem. Objectives: 1. To study the prevalence of overweight & obesity among school children of an affluent school. 2. To assess the risk factors related to obesity. Materials and methods: The present study was a cross sectional study conducted in an affluent English Medium School of Bhubaneswar during Jan. Feb. 2011. After getting permission from school authorities, the data was collected from students of Class 1 to 10. One section from each class is randomly selected and all the students present during the survey were screened for overweight and obesity. In this way, data was collected from 468 children. Complete data of each child were collected using a pre-designed, pre-tested questionnaire. Result: Out of total 468 school children, 41.9% were boys and 58.1% were girls. 44.4% children belong to 5-10 years age group while the 55.6% children belong to 10-15 years age group. The overall prevalence of overweight and obesity in school children of 5-15 years was found to be 28.63% (overweight – 14.1% and obesity – 14.53%). Maximum prevalence i.e. 36.54% was found in children of 5-10 years age group and 33.65% in boys. Overweight and Obesity was found significantly higher in Children of 5-10 years age group, with family H/O obesity, not playing outdoor games, not doing regular exercise, watching TV, Computer more than 2 hours daily and consuming junk food regularly. Conclusion: Periodic screening for overweight and obesity should be done in schools followed by counseling of parents of overweight and obese children. Counseling of adolescent children on lifestyle modification should be emphasized.