Relationship between “general obesity index - body mass index” and “resting heart rate” in school-going male adolescent subjects: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: The previous studies on effect on “Resting Heart Rate (RHR)” with physiological variables in school-going children are deficient in western part of Rajasthan. Aim and Objective: The objective of this cross-sectional study was to determine the association between general obesity index (body mass index [BMI]) with RHR in obese and non-obese school-going male adolescents of the Jodhpur city (Rajasthan). Materials and Methods: After obtaining approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee, 50 male subjects aged between 14 and 17 years were enrolled for the study. All the subjects were divided into two groups according to BMI with written informed consent. The anthropometric data, i.e. height (HT) and weight (WT) were taken to calculate BMI followed by measurements of RHR. These values were analyzed by Student’s t-test and on the basis of BMI, RHR data were compared by Pearson’s coefficient correlation. Results: In our study, higher BMI (BMI ≥25 kg/m2) was found in 22% of subjects (mean + standard deviation =27.04 ± 1.8). The obese group was associated with continuous faster RHR in standing (RHRst. =82.27 ± 2.45 bpm) and supine condition (RHRsup =75.72 ± 2.27 bpm). We found that RHR had significantly positive correlated with BMI (RHRst. r = 0.55 and RHRsup. r = 0.44, respectively). Conclusion: RHRst. position had higher values and significantly positive correlation with obesity index (BMI) among obese group compared to non-obese group (P < 0.05).