Publication:

Association of dietary habits with obesity among school adolescents in Central India

Background The growing prevalence of obesity among school adolescents is a major public health concern. It can be seen mostly as a result of modifiable risk factors like lack of required physical activity and rapid change in dietary habits among them.

Methods The present cross sectional descriptive study was done among adolescents studying in schools (government and private) of Bhopal city. School adolescents were classified as obese and non-obese as per the WHO criteria used for obesity in South East Asia Region (SEAR). Pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data which comprised of socio demographic information and various dietary habits like frequent consumption of fast & fried food, bakery products and little dietary behavior.

Results Out of total 6.6% obese school adolescents, majority of them consume fast foods (82%), fried foods (89%) and bakery products (79.5%) and all of these were positively associated with increased risk of obesity. Few eating behaviours like skipping breakfast, frequent snacking and eating outside were also found positively associated.

Conclusions There is definitely a major role of dietary habits for increased risk of obesity among school adolescents. So, it is the need of hour to create awareness among school adolescents regarding their dietary habits.