TY - JOUR AU - Anil Bindhu AU - K Thankam AU - Regi Jose AU - PV Benny AU - Nazeema Beevi AU - Jeesha Haran PY - 2019/06/24 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Prevalence of Obesity and Overweight among Adults in a Rural Area in Trivandrum - A Cross Sectional Study JF - Kerala Medical Journal JA - KMJ VL - 12 IS - 2 SE - Original Research DO - 10.52314/kmj.2019.v12i2.556 UR - https://www.keralamedicaljournal.com/index.php/KMJ/article/view/556 AB - Background: Obesity is an important modifiable risk factor for most chronic non-communicable diseases. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of overweight/ obesity among adults in Nellanadu Panchayath, a rural area in Trivandrum, Kerala. Materials and Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted among 300 adults in Nellanadu panchayath, a rural area in Trivandrum, Kerala. Adultsā‰„18 years are interviewed from the consecutive houses with the help of a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Height, weight, waist circumference and hip circumference were measured using standard anthropometric methodology.Results: Mean age of the study population was 47.58 years. Mean BMI among women was significantly higher (24.28), compared to men (23.2) with p = 0.012. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in the population was 24% and 40.7% respectively, as per WHO BMI guidelines for Asians. About 51% of women and 35% of men had high waist circumference. Higher proportion of women (77.7%) had high waist-hip-ratio compared to men (48.5%). Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight and obesity is high among adults in rural areas in Trivandrum. ER -