Body Shape Dissatisfaction and Overweight Noesis among Polytechnic College students in Puducherry- A Cross Sectional Study

The prevalence of obesity has doubled since 1980 worldwide. With the changing dietary and life style habits, overweight and obesity have become a threat globally. As on 2011, more than 40 million children worldwide are overweight and more than 30 million of them are living in developing countries. Body image perception of an individual plays a major role in determining the diet and lifestyle modification to alter their body shape.Materials and methods: The study was carried out among 1034 polytechnic college students in Puducherry aged 15-25 years as a cross sectional study. Stunkard’s visual figures scale was used to measure Body Shape Dissatisfaction.Statistical analysis: Chi-square test was used to test the statistical significance in difference between proportions, p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results:The prevalence of Body Shape Dissatisfaction in our study subjects was found to be 62.2%. More female students wanted a thinner body shape while more male students wanted a bigger body shape than their current body shape. 45.3% of the students with normal BMI were satisfied with their current body shape, 26% of them wanted a bigger shape and 28.7% of the students wanted to have a thinner shape.Conclusions:The prevalence of BSD was considerably high in our study population. Body shape misconception might lead to unnecessary weight reduction measures and students tend to follow unhealthy methods for weight reduction. Proactive preventive measures could be initiated targeting towards weight management and dietary practices of college students.