A Cross Sectional Study to Estimate Overweight & Obesity & its Contributing Factors in Adolescent Govt School Children in Chrompet, Chennai

India is following a trend of other developed & developing country that are steadily becoming more obese. Unhealthy, processed food has become much more accessible following India's continued integration in global food markets. Childhood obesity is associated with a higher chance of premature death and disability in adulthood. Conditions such as type 2 Diabetes mellitus, Hypertension & Hypercholestremia, which were noted primarily in adults, are becoming more among children with the increase in prevalence of obesity

To find out the factors contributing to overweight & obesity.

The study was a cross sectional, school based study among 10–18 years of children in an urban area of Kancheepuram district, South Chennai. The study subjects are children of both sexes 10–18 from government schools. From the 3 government schools population of 4916 children out of which 1229 school children are selected through "population proportionate probability" sampling technique (PPS 25%).

The prevalence of overweight in boys is 15.6% and it is 6.9% among girls. The prevalence of obesity among boys is 3.7% and it is very low as 0.3% in girls. The difference in proportions of overweight and obesity between boys and girls are statistically highly significant (P<0.001).

The study revealed that Physical Activity Level (PAL) and gender has a tremendous effect on overweight or obesity. Based on the finding of this study it is recommended that Sedentary lifestyle should be discouraged, increase physical activity like playing outdoor games, walking, cycling should be encouraged in children, development of Play grounds should be done both in Schools and in community, Health education should be given to parents, teachers & children regarding dietary habit & sedentary life style.