The Estimation of Body Mass Index among the Pharmacy Students of Sindh, Pakistan.

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to estimate the obesity ratio among the student of College of Pharmacy belongs to urban and rural areas of Sindh, Pakistan. Material & Methods: A total of 210 questioners were analyzed. Data was collected during the period of Feb 2019 to Sep 2019 by means of structured questioner including demographic data, blood pressure measure by using sphygmomanometer and stethoscope and self taken weight (kg) and height (meters) data which were used to convert into BMI using formula weight in kg/height in meters (WHO,2006). Categorization of students were made according to WHO (2006) based cut off points as: underweight (i.e. BM I < 20), Normal weight (i.e. 20

< BMI < 25), overweight (i.e. 25< BMI   30) and obese (i.e. BMI > 30) (WHO 2006).out  of 210 students  148 (70.47%)

were females and 62(20.96%) were male students, 59 (28%) were belong to urban areas where as  151  (71.90%)  were belong to rural areas of  Sindh,  Pakistan.  Results:  The majority of students from 2^nd professional undergraduate were overweight. The higher  rates  of  the  underweight  students were found in final professional undergraduate students. Only male students of 4'^h professional undergraduate were found higher in numbers in  underweight.  The high blood  pressure was found in female students (20.94%) then in male students (16.12%).  SPSS  Version  22   was   used   to   tabulate   the data Conclusion:World  Health  Organization  shows  that human health depends upon (60%) on behavior and living habits, (15%) by genetic factor,  (8%)  by  medical  condition and (7% )by climate, thus this study will led to an improved understanding of health status of studied population and will serve to notify university programs and policies.