ASSESSMENT OF BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) AMONG ENTRY LEVEL STUDENTS IN A UNDERGRADUATE COLLEGE IN PANVEL, NAVI MUMBAI, INDIA

College life is an important stage for adolescents where they are exposed to stress and lack of time, posing a barrier to adoption of healthy practices. Evaluation of the nutritional status of individuals and population groups is an important tool in public health and a feasible indicator of standards of living. The purpose of the present study was to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity among entry level students in an undergraduate college in Panvel, Navi Mumbai. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect and record information on age, sex, height in meters and weight in kilograms. The body mass index (BMI) was calculated by the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters (kg/m2). Of the total 264 students participated in the study, 128 (48.48%) were male and 136 (51.52%) were female. The result showed that the average height, weight and BMI recorded in the present study was 1.62±0.093 m (range 1.42-1.82 m), 50.75±11.976 kg (range 31-100 kg) and 19.322±3.705 kg/m2 (range 13.10-34.00 kg/m2) respectively. Nutritional status of the students under study reveals that 123 (46.591%) students were underweight, 123 (46.591%) were with normal weight, 12 (4.545%) were overweight and 6 (2.273%) were with obesity Class I. More male students are overweight and obese than female students. Also prevalence of significantly higher proportion of underweight in students should not be ignored. The study recommends organization of health promotion programmes to promote healthy styles on diet, physical activity and health. A nutritional education is required in order to eliminate the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Present information could be helpful as a baseline data for further study on prevalence of overweight and obesity among college and University students.