Assessment of obesity and its determinants among adults – A Cross-sectional study

• Main Author: Santhoshi Bhavani K 1 , Vidhya Wilson 2
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Prathima Institute of Medical Sciences 2019-04-01
• Series: Perspectives In Medical Research
• Subjects: body mass index; obesity; determinants; hypertension
• Online Access: http://www.pimr.org.in/files-vol7-issue1-19/bhavani-vol-7-issue-1-2019.PDF

Introduction: Obesity is the most prevalent form of malnutrition and its prevalence in India is 12.6% in women and 9.3% in men. Obesity has been identified as the known risk factor for many non-communicable diseases. Because of industrialization and urbanization the dietary habits and life style of the people have changed leading to increased risk of obesity. Aims and Objectives: To find out the prevalence of obesity among adults of age group 30 years and above and to determine the factors associated with obesity. Materials and Methods : A cross-sectional study was conducted among adults of age group 30 years and above in the field practice area of tertiary care teaching hospital during the period from August 2017 to October 2017. The households in the field practice area were surveyed. Individuals who were non-diabetic and non-hypertensive and who were willing for screening for diabetes and hypertension were selected. A pre designed and pre tested semi-structured questionnaire was used for collecting the data. A total of 96 study participants were studied after taking informed consent. The data was analyzed using SPSS software version 22. Results and Conclusion : Out of 96 study participants, 23 (23.9%) were obese and 25 (26.1%) were pre obese. Similarly, 27 (28.2 %) and 48 (50%) of individuals were hypertensive and pre hypertensive respectively. Majority of individuals of age > 50 years, 26 (59.1%), females, 30 (61.2%) and housewives, 24 (61.5%) and individuals belonging to class I socio-economic status, 18 (66.7%) were found to be pre-obese/obese (BMI > 25 kg/m2 ) as compared to other groups