I read with interest the recent article(1) on obesity in affluent adolescent girls in Chennai. The prevalence of obesity and overweight among adolescent girls were found to be 6% and 10% respectively. I am worried that these figures may under-represent the real figures. The sample size included only one school and that may not be representative of the entire adolescent population. Relatively lower figures of obesity may also be due to the fact that they studied only girls.

The prevalence of obesity has been found to be lower among girls (6%) as compared to boys (8% ) in an earlier study(2). A recent study done by Nutrition Foundation of India among 5000 children aged 4-18 years in a Delhi private school found that 29% of them were overweight with a body mass index above 25(3). These studies point towards the fact that obesity among children in India has become a public health problem (prevalence >5%).

Sudhir Kumar,
Department of Neurological Sciences,
Christian Medical College Hospital,
Vellore, Tamilnadu-632 004, India.
E-mail: drsudhirkumar@yahoo.com

1. Subramanya V, JayaShree R, Rafi M. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in affluent adolescent girls in Chennai in 1981 and 1998. Indian Pediatr 2003; 40: 332-336.

2. Kapil U, Singh P, Pathak P, Dwivedi SN, Bhasin S. Prevalence of obesity amongst affluent adolescent school children in Delhi. Indian Pediatr 2002; 39: 449-452.

3. Chatterjee P. India sees parallel rise in malnutrition and obesity. Lancet 2002; 360: 1948.