Zeitschrift für Adipositas- und Gewichtsverlusttherapie

Abstrakt

Overweight and Obesity among Medical Students of Public Sector's Institutes in Karachi, Pakistan

Sajid Mahmood, Tahira Perveen, Muhammad Najjad, Naeem Yousuf, Faizan Ahmed and Nasir Ali

Objectives: To determine the factors associated with overweight and obesity among medical students of public sector’s institutes in Karachi, Pakistan. Methodology: A university based cross-sectional analytic study was conducted in public sector institutes of Karachi. Data was collected from first year to final year medical students through convenient sampling technique by using self administered questionnaire followed by anthropometric measurement. The outcome variable “overweight or obesity” was defined by using South Asian BMI (≥ 23) cut-off points. Logistic regression technique was applied by using software SPSS to determine the factors associated with overweight and obesity among medical students. Results: A total of 428 medical students participated in study. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among medical students was found to be 14.7%, 12.4% respectively. Among boys it was 47.7% whereas among girls it was 15.9%. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was associated with male gender (adjusted OR=4.96 (95% C.I: 3.02 - 8.15)), lunch taking from college/outside home (adjusted OR=3.67 (95% C.I: 2.44 - 6.61)), snacks taking habit between the meals (adjusted OR=1.95 (95% C.I: 1.03 - 3.68)), and tea drinking habit (adjusted OR=2.50 (95% C.I: 1.38 - 4.54)). Conclusion: Prevalence of overweight and obesity among medical students was high in our sample population. Multifaceted efforts are required to target this high risk group of medical students to prevent obesity and its related morbidity and mortality.