Study of influence of socio-economic status and television on obesity among undergraduate medical students in south India

Background: Obesity is the most common expression of unhealthy diet often combined with lack of physical activity. The present work was planned to study the influence of socio-economic status and television on obesity among undergraduate medical students in Andhra Medical College (AMC), Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. Materials and Methods: An institution based cross sectional study was conducted during the period of June – Nov. 2010. A total of 205 students of AMC were included for the study. A pretested questionnaire was administered. Study population was selected by stratified sampling. Physical activity was classified based on MET classification. BMI was classified based on Asia pacific norms. Results: It was observed that the prevalence of central obesity in those watching TV for more than three hours was least as 4.76% while it was highest (16.67%) in those watching 1-2 hours TV every day. Maximum occurrence of overweight/obesity was seem in SCs at 58.33% followed by OCs at 51.35%, BCs 48.70% and least in STs at 41.17%. Maximum number of normal weight students was found among STs 52.95% followed by OCs at 47.3%, SCs at 41.67% and least in BCs at 38.47%. Conclusion: From present study it was concluded that socio economic status and television watching plays a vital role in pathogenesis of obesity.