An epidemiological evaluation of predictors of overweight and obesity in Garhwal region of Uttarakhand.

Background: Overweight and obesity are now considered to be a very serious public health problems, contributing to a number of preventable non communicable diseases and are among the most significant contributors to ill health.Material & method: A cross sectional study was carried out with a total sample size of 632. Multistage stratified random sampling and “Kish” method was applied for selection of study area and selection of study subjects (21-60 years). WHO STEPS for NCD Risk Factor Surveillance, was used to gather the necessary information. Percentage, Chi square, & logistic regression analysis was calculated and significant level was taken at p<0.05.Results: As per Asia Pacific classification 49.3% (majority) of subjects while as per WHO classification 33.3% of subjects were found to be overweight or obese (BMI > 23kg/m2). It was nearly 2 times higher in urban males. Central obesity was more commonly observed in urban subjects (male: 38.9%, female: 77.6%) as compared to rural subjects (males: 17.8%, females: 59.4%). High (at risk) WHR was recorded in 55.9% of total subjects. High (at risk) WHtR was recorded in 66.8% of total subjects while in 54.4% & 79.1% among rural & urban subjects respectively. All the predictors showed higher percentages in females and in urban area.Conclusion: The present study reveals that, there is high prevalence of overweight and obesity in the study population. Certainly, there has been a considerable shift in their dietary and lifestyle profile. The dietary profile is changed to a mixture of rural and urban diets, with higher consumption of saturated fat and low intake of fibre.