Prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescent students in Pondicherry, South India

Abstract

Context: The adolescent period of human life is one of the vital times when most of the body growth and development occur. Nearly 35% of the global burden of disease has its root emergence in adolescence. Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. Aims: The present study aims to measure the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescent students (aged 10-18 years) in Pondicherry. Settings and Design: The study was conducted as a cross-sectional study among 10-18-year-old students in Pondicherry. The study was conducted among 2,465 students from 5 schools and 2 polytechnic colleges. Materials and Methods: The students were classified as overweight or obese based on the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) age- and gender-specific body mass index (BMI) guidelines. Statistical Analysis Used: Data entry was done in MS Excel 2013 and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 was used for the statistical analysis. Chi-square test was used to identify statistical difference in proportions. Results: The study results showed that the prevalence of overweight and obesity in our study population was 9.7% and 4.3%, respectively. There was no difference in prevalence between males and females. The prevalence of overweight/obesity increased as the age advanced. Conclusions: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was predominant among the students of private schools in the urban region in our study population.