A study to assess prevalence of obesity among medical students of G.R. medical college, Gwalior, M. P., India

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation in the body that may impair health. Body mass index is a simple index of weight for height that is commonly used to classify overweight and obesity among adults. It is defined as a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of his height in meters (kg/m 2). The WHO definition of overweight is a BMI greater than or equal to 25 and the definition of obesity is a BMI greater than or equal to 30. Overweight and obesity are the fifth leading risk factors for global death. At least 2-8 million adults die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. In addition, 44% of the diabetes burden, 23% of the ischemic disease burden and between 7% & 41% of certain cancer burdens are attributable to overweight and obesity. 1 The prevalence of obesity was higher among boys than in among girls and slightly higher in urban areas (12%) than rural areas. 2 Body mass index has been one of the commonest way to determine the transition of a person from normal weight to obesity. It is simple to calculate and to categorize a person as underweight, normal, ABSTRACT Background: Obesity is emerging as a serious problem throughout the world, not only among adults but also children, teenagers and young adults. Medical education is stressful throughout the whole course of training. Overweight and obesity is one of the preventable cause of morbidity and mortality. The social implications of obesity are a major problem that is often neglected. Objectives of current study were to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity in medical students and to assess the factors influencing the development of overweight and obesity. Methods: The present study was a cross sectional study of II nd semester medical students in which, a total of 131 students were included. The study involved administration of a pretested questionnaire to the students and their anthropometric measurements. Results: In a batch of 150 students 131 participated in the study in which 90 (68.70%) were males and 41 (31.30%) were females. The prevalence of overweight was 13 (9.93%) and the prevalence of obesity was 2 (1.53%). Conclusion: The study showed a high prevalence of overweight and obesity among the medical students. At the time of anthropometric measurements awareness was created for their weight and for the promotion of physical activity among medical students.