OBESITY

Obesity is currently considered as a global issue to public health. Overweight andobesity among professional workers, particularly among professional drivers and conductorsis becoming an equally challenging, yet under recognized, problem in developing countriesincluding Pakistan. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of obesity and central obesityamong professional drivers and conductors in Multan city, Pakistan. Study Design: A crosssectionalstudy. Methodology: A total of 345 professional drivers and conductors were studiesfor public transport and loader vehicles. The anthropometric characteristics of the participantswere focused including the body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hipratio (WHR). Along with descriptive statistics and percentages, two-sample t-test was used.Results: The mean BMI of all the participants was 24.35. More than 50% of the drivers andconductors had excess body weight (i.e. BMI > 25 kg/m2). For central obesity, 86 (43.7%)drivers and 28(18.9%) of conductors had increased waist (i.e. WC > 94 cm). Similarly, 34.5%of the said professionals had WHR above the adequate level (i.e. WHR > 0.95). The averagesof BMI, WC and WHR of the public transport vehicle drivers were significantly higher than thoseof the loader vehicle drivers. Conclusion: The present study concludes that the professionaldrivers and conductors are much likely to have excess weight.