title: The high burden of obesity and abdominal obesity in urban Indian schoolchildren: a multicentric study of 38,296 children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of overweight, obesity and abdominal obesity and their associated factors in a large sample of urban Indian schoolchildren.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a cross-sectional study conducted in 5 cities in India. Height and weight were measured in 38,296 children and waist circumference was measured in 29,244 children aged 8-18 years. The prevalence was compared with respect to age, gender, type of school and city of residence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean ± standard deviation for age was 13.3 ± 2.4 years and 18.3 ± 4.3 kg/m(2) for BMI. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in 8- to 18-year-old children, respectively, was 14.4 and 2.8% by IOTF cutoffs, 14.5 and 4.8% by CDC cutoffs and 18.5 and 5.3% by WHO cutoffs. When applying the cutoffs specific for Indian ethnicity in 14- to 18-year-old children, the prevalence was higher (21.1 and 12.3%, respectively) as compared to the IOTF, WHO and CDC cutoffs. The overall prevalence of abdominal obesity in urban Indian schoolchildren was 4.5%. The prevalence of overweight and abdominal obesity was significantly higher in females than males (p < 0.001). High socioeconomic status and residing in cities with a population greater than 4 million were independently associated with overweight and abdominal obesity (p < 0.001). On extrapolating these data, more than 15 million children would currently be overweight and 4 million abdominally obese in urban India.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a substantial burden of childhood obesity in India, which necessitates comprehensive urban-based campaigns for its prevention and control.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Fortis Hospital, New Delhi, India. anoopmisra@metabolicresearchindia.com
authors.forename: Anoop
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Misra
authors.forename: Priyali
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Kashish
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Goel
authors.forename: Daya Kishore
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Hazra
authors.forename: Rajeev
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Payal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Seth
authors.forename: Pooja
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tallikoti
authors.forename: Indu
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mohan
authors.forename: Rooma
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bhargava
authors.forename: Sarita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bajaj
authors.forename: Jagmeet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Madan
authors.forename: Seema
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gulati
authors.forename: Swati
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhardwaj
authors.forename: Rekha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Nidhi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Ravindra Mohan
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Pandey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014504:Urban Health; D014505:Urban Population; D055105:Waist Circumference; D044465:White People