A Descriptive Study to Assess the Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity and Its Associated Factors Among Women of Reproductive Age Group in Urban Area of Rohtak

Abstract

Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide, with increasing prevalence in adults and children, and authorities view itas one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century. The burden of obesity is expected to increase approximately double among Indian adults aged 20-69 years between 2010 and 2040. Material & Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the urban area of Rohtak. Study subjects were women of age 15-49 years. Sample size 100 was selected by using Convenient sampling technique.
Objectives: To find out the prevalence of obesity and overweight in women of reproductive age group and to assess the factors associated with obesity and overweight among selected women and to determine
the relationship between overweight and obesity and socio - economic factors, physical activity and dietary intake among women. Procedure: Data collection was done by conducting house to house visits and doing an interview using a structured questionnaire interview schedule and BMI calculation by weight and height measurement and waist Hip ratio by measurement of waist and hip.
Result: Chi square test was used to find out the association of findingsn with their selected demographical variables and clinical variables among women. Out of 100 samples 7(7%) women are underweight, 35(35%)
women’s having normal body weight, 37(37%) women overweight and 21(21%) are obese.
Conclusion: Prevalence of overweight was high as compared to obesity in community area; level of activity, meal intake, fruits intake and exercise were found to be strongly associated with obesity.