Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Students of a Medical College in South India: A Pilot Study.

Background: Obesity is emerging as a serious problem throughout the world, not only among adults but also children, teenagers and young adults. Of the factors contributing to obesity, stress seems to be particularly important as stressful condition leads to irregularity in diet, lack of exercise and addiction, each being considered an independent factor leading to obesity. Medical education is stressful throughout the whole course of training. The amount of material to be absorbed, social isolation, pressure of examination, discrepancies between expectation and reality all can be anticipated to bring psychological stress. Hence, this study was undertaken to find out the prevalence of overweight and obesity among undergraduate medical students. Aims and objectives: To assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity among medical students in Azeezia Medical College and also to find the relationship of the following risk factors with obesity; a) Physical inactivity, b) sleeping habits, c) diet, d) stress and e) association with other diseases (thyroid disorders, menstrual disorders). Study design: A cross-sectional study was conducted in selected sample of 89 subjects. Settings: The study setting was in a rural area in Kollam district of Kerala. Material and methods: Anthropometric measurements including height and weight were taken as per WHO criteria. Body mass index were calculated and classified accordingly as normal, overweight and obese. Details of factors influencing were obtained using a pretested questionnaire in a pilot study. Results and conclusion: The study revealed overall a high prevalence of overweight (44%) and obesity (10%). In males 35% were overweight and 11% were obese, while in females 49% were overweight and 9% were obese. Relation with increased frequency of meals (p = 0.007), increased sleep duration (p = 0.003) and regular exercise (p = 0.047) were found to be significant. Increased prevalence of overweight among females and obesity among males in rural area were observed. The importance of regular physical activity and certain aspects of healthy aging need to be emphasized in the elderly population. Growing old is not an end to everything but an opening for challenges and approach.