Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Adolescents of Islamabad: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

 Adolescence is one of the fundamental processes of life, where transformation in composition 
of the body along with behavioral and physiological take place making the adolescents one 
of the most vulnerable group of population in the community and it is extremely important to 
take care of their nutritional as well as health status. Present study was carried out to find the 
prevalence of obesity in adolescents of Islamabad, so that; their health and well-being can be 
improved. A total of 315 adolescents studying in different schools both male and female within 
the age range of 15-19 were selected after proper sample size calculation. For data collection 
a pre-tested self-report questionnaire was used in order to find out the level of obesity and 
factors leading to overweight and obesity. Results reveal that 74% of the adolescents living in 
Islamabad had a normal body mass index (BMI)-for-age, 17.4% are overweight while 8.5% are 
obese. It was found that with increase in age and grade, level of overweight and obesity was 
higher.