Pattern of physical activity and overweight among the undergraduate medical students in a Government Medical College of Kolkata

Abstract

Background: Regular moderate physical activity is a very cost-effective way of improving and maintaining people’s health and well-being. Modern way of living has largely eliminated physical activity from our lives as one of the fundamental stimuli. Present study was conducted among undergraduate medical students to assess the physical activity pattern, prevalence of obesity/overweight and relationship of these with socio-demographic characteristics. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) to assess physical activity pattern among 150 students. Metabolic Equivalents (MET) were used to express the intensity of physical activity. Individuals were considered in high risk group with low/ insufficiently activity if energy expenditure was <600 MET min/week. Overweight/ Obesity was measured using BMI category and waist circumference cut-offs for South-East Asian Population. Results: Forty six percent students were highly active, 23.3% were moderately active and the rest were insufficiently active. It was found that 40% were obese and 15.3% were overweight as per BMI category. More than half of the students (52.7%) have abdominal obesity. Except for gender (p= 0.005) no other socio-demographic characteristics of the students had significant association with level of Physical activity. Conclusions: Although around seventy percent medical students were moderately/ highly active nearly thirty percent were insufficiently active, which was 40% among females making them more prone to risk of several NCDs. The risk is much more in this population as more than half of the students had overweight/abdominal obesity at this age. Promotion of active lifestyles in young adults should be encouraged particularly during leisure time and in commuting.

Keywords

• Physical Activity
• GPAQ
• Overweight/ Obesity
• Medical Students