Prevalence of overweight and obesity in affluent adolescent girls in Chennai in 1981 and 1998.

This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of obesity and overweight in adolescent public school girls ( 10-15 years of age) of Chennai in 1981 and 1998. The first part of the study done in the year 1981 (Group I; n = 707) was compared with the second part in 1998 (Group II; I = 610). Overweight and obesity were denoted by body mass index (BMI) above 85th and 95th percentile respectively. The prevalence of overweight (9.6 per cent in 1981 and 9.7 per cent in 1998) and obesity (5. 9 per cent in 1981 and 6.2 per cent in 1998) was comparable in both studies. It was also observed that the BMI for the corresponding age showed an increase front 1981 to 1998.