Risk factors for obesity in children.

In India, it was basically under nutrition, which attracted the focus of health workers. Childhood obesity was rarely seen. But over the past few years this entity is increasingly being observed. The changing life style of families in the so called modernized India with increased purchasing power, easy availability, more comfortable and luxurious living, thanks to improved technology has all attributed to this problem. Increased hours of inactivity due to increasing academic pressure, television, video games and computer have all replaced outdoor games and other social activities. The incidence of obesity in children attending the O.P.D. of the PGI was increasingly being observed. An attempt was hence made to identify such obese children and determine the contributing risk factors. A total of 120 children were observed over a period of one year (2000-01). Body mass index (BMI) >85th percentile and >95th percentile was taken as the criteria to identify overweight and obesity respectively(1).