Obesity; prevalence among drivers and conductors in Multan, Pakistan

ABSTRACT

Obesity is currently considered as a global issue to public health. Overweight and obesity among professional workers, particularly among professional drivers and conductors is becoming an equally challenging, yet under recognized, problem in developing countries including Pakistan. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of obesity and central obesity among professional drivers and conductors in Multan city, Pakistan. A cross-sectional study. A total of 345 professional drivers and conductors were studies for public transport and loader vehicles. The anthropometric characteristics of the participants were focused including the body mass index [BMI], waist circumference [WC] and waist-to-hip ratio [WHR]. Along with descriptive statistics and percentages, two-sample t-test was used. The mean BMI of all the participants was 24.35. More than 50% of the drivers and conductors had excess body weight [i.e. BMI >/= 25 kg/m2]. For central obesity, 86 [43.7%] drivers and 28 [18.9%] of conductors had increased waist [i.e. WC >/=0. 94 cm]. Similarly, 34.5% of the said professionals had WHR above the adequate level [i.e. WHR > 0.95]. The averages of BMI, WC and WHR of the public transport vehicle drivers were significantly higher than those of the loader vehicle drivers. The present study concludes that the professional drivers and conductors are much likely to have excess weight