Prevalence of overweight and obesity among preschool children in semi urban South India.

This study was conducted to ascertain the prevalence of overweight and obesity in 425 pre-school children (2 to 5 years) using the new Child Growth Standards released by the World Health Organization. Overweight and obesity were defined as body mass index (BMI) > 85th and 95th percentiles for that age and sex, respectively. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 4.5% and 1.4%, respectively.

Morbidity pattern and time trends of filaria cases at a PHC in Dakshina Kannada District.

A study on morbity pattern and time trends of filaria cases was carried out in a PHC of Dakshin Kannada District during November 2000 to January 2001. The age and sex distribution of all 416 filaria cases recorded revealed that 235 (56.49%) were females and maximum concentration of 263 (63.21%) was in the age group of 16-45 years. The seasonal distribution revealed that rainy season accounted the highest number of cases 197 (47.35%). The prevalence was highest, 1.96/1000 population in the year 1993 and lowest, 0.71/1000 population in the year 1995.

Smoking behaviour among arts student of a college in Mangalore, Dakshina Kannada.

176 Arts students out of 450 students doing their under-graduation in an age range of 17 to 24 years returned a questionnaire designed to test their level of knowledge about smoking, attitude towards smoking and practice of smoking. 96.6% of the respondents were aware of the injurious nature of smoking. Potential to induce lung cancer was known by 93.2% of them, but only 34.1% knew it was a factor for GI malignancy. A higher proportion of males had good knowledge whereas females had moderate knowledge (p = 0.04). The incidence of smoking was 33.1%. A higher proportion of smokers chewed pan and consumed supari. 68.2% of smokers wished to quit smoking. Easy availability (47.7%) and influence of friends (34.1%) were the predominant reasons to smoke. Interestingly, 48% of males felt that smoking women had appeal. Anti smoking campaigns in addition to provision of information has to focus towards a change in attitude to smoking.

DOTS strategy for control of tuberculosis epidemic.

The article reviews the elements of the DOTS strategy to control the tuberculosis epidemic WHO declared TB" a global emergency" in 1993, the impact of which is worsened by the emergence of multi drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and the spread of HIV/AIDS. DOTS (directly-observed treatment, short-course) is an intermittent, supervised system of drug-intake by patient, which eliminates drug-default. It has been described by WHO as "the most important public health breakthrough of the decade in terms of lives saved" The 5 major components of DOTS are i) Political will, ii) High-quality microscopy, iii) Uninterrupted supply of short-course chemotherapy drugs, iv) Directly--observed chemotherapy regimen use, v) Systemic monitoring using the TB cure rate. Standardized, intermittent DOTS regimens are classified using three categories of disease. The main advantages of DOTS are (i) Cure rates of upto 95%, (ii) Prevention of MDR--TB emergence, (III) Improvement of longevity of AIDS patients by TB control, (iv) It is "one of the most cost-effective of all health interventions", according to World Bank.