A study on children's obesity and overweight at Srikakulam: North coastal region of Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Frequency of obesity is rising day by day because of various factors. It is important to assess the trend of obesity in particular geographical area. Objective: To evaluate the incidence and common risk factor of obesity and overweight in children related to socioeconomic status. Methods: The cross sectional observational study for the incidence and to study the risk factors of obesity was done in two schools of Srikakulam municipal area during May 2018 to December2018. Two schools were chosen based on simple random sampling method. Children between age group of 9 to 12 years present in the school on the day of survey were included in the study. Children diagnosed to be obese due to endogenous causes on clinical examination were excluded NCHS guidelines were used. Results: Incidence of obesity and overweight between the study subjects was 5% and 7.6%. The incidence of obesity is 7.5% in affluent school and 2.1% in municipal school respectively. Conclusion: There is significant incidence of obesity in private school children compared with municipal school in Srikakulam, India.