The Prevalence of Obesity among Children and Adolescents in East Delhi

Obesity is defined as an abnormal increase in weight of an individual. In terms of definition, it can be defined as a waist hip ratio > 0.95 in men and > 0.85 in women. A body mass index of 30 and above is considered obese in case of adults. In case of children Percentiles are used for measuring the obesity. Objective: The present research study was conducted to notify the childhood and adolescent obesity in East Delhi. Methodology: The data were collected cross-sectionally from 500 children and adolescents from East Delhi. Data on anthropometry, dietary habits were collected from children and adolescents 6–15 years. The variables waist hip ratio and body mass index were used to assess obesity. Results and Conclusions: It is observed that a high percentage of obesity is seen at ages 6 to 11 years among females and 10 to 14 years among males (When obesity is assessed using body mass index). As per waist hip ratio among males and females, there is a high prevalence of obesity at ages 9 to 10 years but there is a drop in obesity level during the adolescent spurt at 11 years among the females. The highest prevalence of obesity in seen at age 9 years (12 percent) both among females and males. The overall prevalence of obesity is 8.2 percent, overweight is 17.6 percent and overweight and obesity combined together is 12.9 percent. The prevalence of obesity is high, which needs to be curbed at this stage, so that it does not become a health burden in future.