Publication:

Alarming rise in abdominal obesity among Anganwadi workers in a rural area of Ludhiana

Background Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) at Anganwadi Centers (AWCs) under Integrated Child development Scheme (ICDS) are currently, overburdened. The health of AWWs should be optimum for carrying out duties under ICDS program efficiently.

Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among AWWs in rural Ludhiana. A pre-tested questionnaire was used, their physical health status was assessed and pattern of social media usage was determined.

Results Out of the total 106 AWWs, majority (74.5%) were in the age group of 40-60 years (mean age=51.44±8.83), 72.6% were living with spouse and 61.3% were educated above 10th standard. Regarding self-reported morbidity, 33% had hypertension and 16% had diabetes mellitus. The mean systolic blood pressure (BP) and diastolic BP were 128.58±20.7 and 77.16±10.57 mm of Hg respectively. The mean random blood sugar (RBS) was 131.78±76.17mg/dL and mean body mass index (BMI) was 27.90±4.70, with 79 (74.5%) having BMI≥25. The mean waist hip ratio (WHR) was 0.926±0.07, showing increase with age.  All the subjects were using social media platforms with daily average screen time of 3.82±2.2 hours. The association between BMI versus age group (p<0.03), education level (p<0.028) and hypertension (p<0.012) were statistically significant. The association between WHR versus education level (p<0.03) was significant. The majority (77.4%) agreed social media provides misinformation. About 11.3% reported positive and 32.1% reported a negative health change after social media usage.

Conclusions The government should mandate the annual health checkup of AWWs. Social media can be utilized positively by them for prevention and control of risk factors like obesity.