Open AccessOverweight and obesity among affluent Bengalee schoolgirls of Lake Town, Kolkata, India
Author(s) -
Bose Kaushik,
Bisai Samiran,
Mukhopadhyay Ashish,
Bhadra Mithu
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
maternal and child nutrition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1740-8709
pISSN - 1740-8695
DOI - 10.1111/j.1740-8709.2007.00085.x
Subject(s) - overweight , medicine , obesity , anthropometry , body mass index , demography , cross sectional study , environmental health , pediatrics , endocrinology , pathology , sociology
A cross‐sectional study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among 431 Bengalee schoolgirls aged 6–9 years in Kolkata, India. Anthropometric measurements of height and weight were made on 431 girls. The body mass index (BMI) was computed following the standard equation. Overweight and obesity was defined following the internationally accepted BMI cut‐off points. Results revealed that the overall rates of overweight and obesity were 17.63% and 5.10%, respectively. A steady increase in number of overweight individuals was observed from 6 to 9 years. The prevalence of overweight among affluent Bengalee children was higher than those reported from other Asian countries.