Potential Factors Related to BMI Among School Going Adolescents of Madurai District, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

This study aims to recognize essential aspects (related to lifestyle, eating and sedentary behaviours) of overweight and obesity among school-going adolescents of Madurai District, Tamil Nadu. Data were elicited on the physical activity patterns, sedentary practices at home, sleep duration and lifestyle behaviours such as habits of snacking, skipping breakfast, eating in front of television and frequency of eating out. Among 7660 subjects, 514 samples were found to be overweight and obese and analyzed with the suitable statistical tools such as percentage analysis, chi-square test to check the level of significance. 74.4 per cent of obese adolescents were found to have the habit of consuming snacks. The prevalence of Overweight 95 (18.48%) and obese 315 (61.28%) was more significant in Nuclear families. However, there was no statistically significant association between family type and BMI (χ² = 2.575, p > .05). No statistical association was found between the BMI and snacking and eating patterns of school-going adolescents. Majority of 364 children expenditure towards snacks are less than Rs.25.