Prevalence of obesity in adults--an epidemiological study from Kashmir Valley of Indian Subcontinent.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Obesity is a health problem in the majority of the developed countries and is emerging as a serious problem in the developing countries. In this study we examined 5083 Kashmiri adults to determine the prevalence of obesity. METHODS: In this epidemiological study, after multistage sampling procedure from all the six districts of Kashmir Valley, 5083 Kashmiri adults (males and non-pregnant females of > or = 40 years age) were examined for body mass index (BMI) and waist to hip ratio (WHR). RESULTS: Out of 5083 study subjects, 2496 were males and 2587 were females. BMI ranged between 14.6 to 38.5 kg/m2 in males and between 13.6 to 42.6 kg/m2 in females. BMI in females was comparatively more than that in males (23.88 +/- 3.94 Vs 22.30 +/- 3.11, p < 0.001). WHR ranged between 0.68 to 1.16 in males and between 0.65 to 1.16 in females. Again females had comparatively more WHR than their male counterparts (0.935 +/- 0.055 vs 0.926 +/- 0.055, P < 0.001). According to BMI, the overall prevalence of obesity in the study population was 15.01%; the prevalence of obesity in males was 7.01% and in females 23.69%. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that obesity is a growing problem even in developing regions like ours. It is more common in females and in urban population.