A study of the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and their associations with socioeconomic status among young men residing in a rural area, Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThe non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are becoming more prevalent, and deaths due to it are becoming quotidian. The most common types of NCDs are cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) (such as heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes. NCDs Background: Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension are increasing worldwide. Overweight and obesity may be assessed using internationally accepted criteria developed by the World Health Organization and centers for disease control and prevention. Worldwide, over 1.9 billion adults aged 18 years and older are overweight. Around 600 million individuals are having general obesity which is defined as excessive generalized deposition and storage of fat with body mass index more than 25. Abdominal obesity defined as excessive abdominal fat around stomach and abdomen with the waist circumference (WC) more than 90 cm. Objectives: The objectives of this study are to estimate the prevalence of overweight, general obesity, and abdominal obesity and to examine their associations with socioeconomic status among young men residing in a rural field practice area of SRM Medical College Hospital, Kancheepuram. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was done in the rural area of SRM Medical College Hospital involving 150 young adults (men) selected by simple random sampling method. The sample size was calculated based on the prevalence of 32% using the formula Z2αxPxQ/L2. Written informed consent was obtained from all the study participants. Each demographic and socioeconomic data were collected using questionnaires. A structured peerreviewed questionnaire has been used to collect data regarding demographic characteristics and socioeconomic data. Anthropometric measurements including participant's weight, height, and WC were assessed. Results: About 39% of the study participants were found to be overweight and obese. Around 40% of study participants had WC more than 90 cm and about 60% of the study participants with a WC <90 cm. Majority of the study participants among overweight (52.80%), obesity Class I (43.20%), and obesity Class II (56.30%) individuals belongs to the middle socioeconomic class. Conclusion: These results suggest a high prevalence of abdominal obesity which may be the key factor for metabolic disorders.

Socio-demographic patterning of the individual-level double burden of malnutrition in a rural population in South India: a cross-sectional study

“…Indicators of over-and undernutrition were widespread, both at the population level and within individuals. Prevalence of most measures of over-and undernutrition in the study population were similar or higher than state-level rural averages and previous regional studies conducted in South India [7,8,[41][42][43][44]. Underweight was more common among men, which is unusual for an Indian sample population [7,44,45].…”

“…Results indicate that rural regions in South India may mirror patterns seen in urban India over the past two decades, with the burden of overweight and associated morbidities surpassing that of undernutrition [46]. The study population had similar or slightly higher prevalence of overweight and associated morbidities in comparison to previous studies in rural India and Tamil Nadu [41,42]. As discussed elsewhere [47], this study recorded one of the highest regional burdens of diabetes in rural India at 10.8%, which is higher than state-level estimates (7.8% as measured by Anjana et al 2011) [8] and most previous regional estimates (see Misra et al 2011 for review of prevalence studies in rural India) [48], but was similar to a recent cross-sectional study conducted in clusters of villages in nearby Vellore, Tamil Nadu (11.2%) [43].…”