title: Prevalence, risk factors and consequences of overweight and obesity among schoolchildren: a cross-sectional study in Kashmir, India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obesity among children and adolescents is a growing public health problem. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, risk factors and metabolic consequences of obesity among schoolchildren from Kashmir, India.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study subjects (n=2024) included 870 boys and 1154 girls, aged between 6 and 18 years. Data were collected by interviewer-administered questionnaires. Information was obtained about different lifestyles, anthropometric parameters and dietary habits. Obesity was defined as body mass index (BMI) percentile as per the guidelines of Centers for Disease Control, 2000. For the evaluation of different clinical parameters, blood samples were collected from the subjects in the fasting state at 8 to 9 am after an overnight (10-12 h) fast.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The highest representation of subjects was from fee-paying private schools. Out of the total subjects, 6.69% were overweight and 4.64% were obese. The hip circumference, abdominal circumference, BMI, blood pressure (BP), use of ready-made foods as well as the clinical parameters like glucose, phosphorous, cholesterol and triglycerides were found significantly higher among girls than boys (p<0.05). Boys were taller and were physically more active than girls (p<0.01). Compared to the boys (3.33%), the girls were found to be more obese (5.63%). Rural dwelling subjects (4.22%) exhibited a lower percentage of obesity than urban population (5.00%). The difference in obesity among the different age groups was found statistically significant (p<0.05). Additionally, children with active lives in the form of vigorous (10.59%) or moderate (10.34%) exercise decreased their chances of gaining weight substantially.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results from the present study have shown that prevalence of obesity among children was high in our population.
authors.forename: Mohd Ashraf
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ganie
authors.forename: Gulzar Ahmad
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Bhat
authors.forename: Ishfaq Ahmad
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Wani
authors.forename: Aafia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rashid
authors.forename: Showkat Ali
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Zargar
authors.forename: Bashir Ahmad
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Charoo
authors.forename: Zaffar Amin
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Syed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mudassar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000886:Anthropometry; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D050177:Overweight / Q000150:complications*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012574:Schools; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014280:Triglycerides