Prevalence of Childhood Obesity in an Affluent School in Telangana Using the Recent IAP Growth Chart: A Pilot Study

To study the prevalence of obesity in children in an affluent school in Hyderabad, Telangana, using the recent Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) growth charts and to compare the same with the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) charts.

A cross-sectional study was conducted in an affluent school of Hyderabad in January 2018. After getting appropriate permission, anthropometry measurements of the school children were done. The data were collected from students of Classes 4-10. Each class had three sections. Each section had around 25-30 students. Body mass index (BMI), calculated as weight (kg)/height² (m²) was used to classify the participants using age- and gender-specific cut-points as per CDC growth charts and the recent IAP charts.

A total of 544 students were studied. About 52% were boys (n = 288) and 48% were girls (n = 256). Using the IAP charts, 24.6% were obese and 35.8% were overweight. Using the CDC criteria, the prevalence of obesity and overweight was 15.4% and 26.1%, respectively. The mean BMI in the obese group was 25.6 ± 3.5 kg/m² and in the overweight group was 21.1 ± 1.9 kg/m². The prevalence of obesity and overweight was more in girls (obesity 32.8% versus 17.3% and overweight 44.5% versus 28.1%, respectively). The highest prevalence of childhood obesity was seen in the 8-10 years age group.

Our study reflects the increased prevalence of obesity and overweight in the adolescent age group, using the recent IAP criteria.