Double burden of underweight and overweight among children (10–19 years of age) of employees working in Indian industrial units.
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Date
2009-07
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Abstract
Background. Along with the existing problem of
underweight, overweight in children is increasing in the
developing world. However, there is little information on its
magnitude and pattern in the Indian context. We aimed to
study the pattern and correlates of overweight in Indian
children and adolescents.
Methods. A total of 3750 children in the age group of
10–19 years, who were family members of randomly selected
employees from 10 different industrial sites in India, were
surveyed using an interviewer-administered questionnaire.
Results. The prevalence of underweight was highest in
peri-urban areas (30.2% and 53.2% according to Indian and
international criteria, respectively). In urban and highly urban
areas, the prevalence of underweight was 14.1% and 9.8%,
respectively, according to the Indian criteria, and 27.1% and
19.2%, respectively, according to international criteria. The
proportion of overweight children was highest in the highly
urban category (19.1% and 13.4% according to Indian and
international criteria, respectively). The level of urbanization
(OR 3.1 and 4.7 for overweight in urban and highly urban
areas, respectively, compared with peri-urban areas,
p<0.001), physical activity (OR 0.4, p<0.001, in children
with physical activity score >75th percentile compared with
a score <75th percentile) and frequency of meals outside the
home (OR 12, p<0.001, if >25% weekly meals taken
outside the home compared with <25% of weekly meals
outside home) were significant predictors of overweight.
Conclusion. There is a double burden of underweight and overweight among Indian children and adolescents.
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Jeemon P, Prabhakaran D, Mohan V, Thankappan K R, Joshi P P, Ahmed F, Chaturvedi V, Reddy K S. Double burden of underweight and overweight among children (10–19 years of age) of employees working in Indian industrial units. National Medical Journal of India. 2009 Jul-Aug; 22(4): 172-176.