Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity among Rural Adolescent School Children in Achrol, Rajasthan

Abstract

Background: The potential public health issue that is emerging is the increasing incidence of childhood obesity and overweight in developing countries. Obesity and overweight have become a worldwide epidemic, and there is an urgent need to examine childhood obesity and overweight across countries using a standardized international standard. Materials and Methods: In the present study, we have investigated the prevalence of obesity and overweight and their association with socioeconomic status and the risk factors such as diet, physical activity such as exercise, sports, sleeping habit in afternoon, and eating habits such as junk food and eating outside. Adolescent school children between 12 and 15 years of age were analyzed by a random sampling procedure in three different schools. School based cross-sectional study carried out over a period of 2 months in three schools of Achrol village. Results: The overall prevalence of obesity was 2% and of overweight was 10.2% among adolescent school children. The prevalence of overweight was 9.5% among boys and 10.9% among girls indicating that girls were at a greater risk of becoming obese. Conclusion: Overweight was marginally higher in the pubertal age groups of 13–15 years in Achrol and timely intervention is required for its control