We conducted this study to document the prevalence of obesity, overweight and underweight in the school children aged 5 to 16 years from Mysore. 5 Principal Investigators and 13 Co-Investigators trained the teachers of 139 schools (Private--111, Govt--28) to record the vital statistics of the children studying in their schools. A total of 43,152 school children (23,527 boys and 19,625 girls) were surveyed. 36,354 children were from private schools and 6798 children were from Government (Govt) schools. Indian Academy of Pediatrics growth charts were used as reference. The prevalence of obesity, overweight and underweight were 3.4%, 8.5% and 17.2%, respectively. The prevalence of obesity was maximum in the age group of 5-7 years and in those from private schools.

Background:Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) remains the least recognized form of atherosclerosis. The Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) has emerged as one of the potent markers of diffuse atherosclerosis, cardiovascular (CV) risk, and overall survival in general public, especially in diabetics. The important reason for the lack of early diagnosis is the non-availability of a test that is easy to perform and less expensive, with no training required.Objectives:To evaluate the osillometric method of performing ABI with regard to its usefulness in detecting PAD cases and to correlate the signs and symptoms with ABI.Materials and Methods:Two hundred diabetics of varying duration attending the clinic for a period of eight months, from August 2006 to April 2007, were evaluated for signs, symptoms, and risk factors. ABI was performed using the oscillometric method. The positives were confirmed by Doppler evaluation. An equal number of age- and sex-matched controls, which were ABI negative, were also assessed by Doppler. Sensitivity and Specificity were determined.Results:There were 120 males and 80 females. Twelve males (10%) and six females (7.5%) were ABI positive. On Doppler, eleven males (91.5%) and three females (50%) were true positives. There were six false negatives from the controls (three each). The Sensitivity was 70% and Specificity was 75%. Symptoms and signs correlated well with ABI positives. Hypertension was the most important risk factor.Conclusions:In spite of the limitations, the oscillometric method of performing ABI is a simple procedure, easy to perform, does not require training and can be performed as an outpatient procedure not only by doctors, but also by the paramedical staff to detect more PAD cases.

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Objective:To assess the occurrence of diabetes in obese nondiabetic patients over a 3-year follow-up period with a correlative analysis of visceral fat (VF), fasting insulin levels, (FILs) and insulin resistance (IR).Material and Methods:Thirty-seven obese and nineteen nonobese nondiabetics of our previous study, Mysore Visceral Adiposity in Diabetes were followed for the next 3 years. Their blood pressure, body mass index, waist circumference (WC), fasting blood sugar (FBS), FIL, lipid profile and subcutaneous fat (SCF), and VF measurement by US method were repeated every 6 months for the next 3 years. The findings were analyzed with appropriate statistical methods.Results:Twenty-three obese and 18 nonobese nondiabetics completed the study. There were 17 dropouts. The changes in the physical and biochemical characteristics of the two groups before and after the study were not significant. SCF had no correlation with IR whereas VF correlated with FIL and IR. There were three diabetics in the obese group and two from the control group at the end of the study. There were 12 impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in the test group and 2 in the control group. Those who developed diabetes had higher VF, WC, FBS, FIL, and IR. Those who showed IGT also had these at higher levels compared to others. There was no change in the VF at the end of the study.Conclusions:This follow-up study on South Indians has shown that VF is a significant risk factor for the development of IR. IR can develop without any increase in the volume of the VF, is the essential finding of this study. SCF has not shown any significant relationship with IR. We recommend FBS and FIL in all the obese nondiabetics to calculate IR, which has given much insight in the development of IGT and diabetes. Large multicentric, longitudinal studies are required to establish the cause of IR.