Obesity among Delhi students 5 times higher in private schools than public schools: AIIMS study

New Delhi: The prevalence of obesity among school-going adolescent children in Delhi is over five times higher in private schools than public schools, a new study by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) states.

Noticeably, the prevalence of obesity is higher among boys than girls in both types of schools.

The study, which was funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), involved researchers from the endocrinology, cardiac biochemistry, and biostatistics departments of AIIMS.

They tracked the health status of 3,888 students aged between six and 19, out of which 1,985 were from public schools and 1,903 from private schools.

The team looked at blood pressure (BP), waist circumference, fasting blood glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides.

They also met with the principals of each school to explain the objectives of the study, the expected outcomes, and its potential impact in order to establish rapport and trust.

"The findings revealed that the prevalence of being underweight was nearly five times higher in public school compared to private school students. At the same time, obesity was more than five times higher in private schools compared to public school students," the report said.

The study noted that in India, data on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on obesity are scarce, and there are even fewer data on underweight.

Furthermore, a regional disparity in the rates of overweight (2.28 per cent - 21.90 per cent) and obesity (2.40 per cent - 17.60 per cent) among school-going children and adolescents was noted before the pandemic.

Hypertension prevalence among urban adolescents aged 10–19 years was found to be over 7 per cent, with no significant difference between public and private school students or between boys and girls.

The study showed that while public school students have fewer weight issues than private school students, they are prone to developing metabolic syndrome, a group of conditions that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes.

Researchers have factored in parameters like obesity, hypertension, lipid abnormalities, impaired fasting plasma glucose and diabetes.

"The overall prevalence of underweight children was 4.95 per cent, with a significantly higher prevalence in public schools than private schools. The overall prevalence rates of general obesity and central obesity were 13.41 per cent and 9.15 per cent respectively, with significantly higher prevalence in private schools," the report said.

"The overall prevalence of hypertension was 7.37 per cent, with similar prevalence in both public and private schools. Private school students had 2.37 times higher prevalence of impaired fasting plasma glucose and 3.51 times higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome than public school students," it added.