A study on overweight and obesity among adolescents (10-19 years) in a rural area of Kanyakumari District.

Overweight and Obesity has emerged as one of the most important public health problem escalating to be a global pandemic. .It is the most prevalent form of malnutrition and it is a global concern. Aims &Objectives: To find out the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents in a rural area of Kanyakumari district and to find out the association between overweight and obesity with its modifiable and non modifiable risk factors. Subjects and Methods: The study was conducted at Thiruvattar block . It is a cross sectional study where 400 adolescents of both sexes were included. The study involved administration of pretested questionnaire, measurements of anthropometry, waist and hip circumferences. Results: The Prevalence of Overweight and obesity was 8.5% and 5.8%. The factors which were significantly associated with overweight and obesity are sex, type of school, socio economic status, educational status, skipping breakfast, food in between the meal, waist hip ratio and physical activity. Conclusion: Overweight and obesity are more common in females, high socio economic status, those with inadequate physical activity and who are consuming junk foods