Purpose. To find the prevalence of overweight/obesity and hypertension, and to study the association between BMI, blood pressure, and age.Methods. Cross-sectional study was carried out among 257 Tangkhul Naga males of Northeast India, age ranging from 20–70 years. The subjects were divided into five different age groups to study age trend.Results. Mean systolic, and diastolic BP was higher among subjects with elevated BMI and among older subjects. Minimum BP was found among underweight and maximum among obese. BP was found lowest among the youngest age group and higher among the elderly subjects. BMI was also found to be associated with age independently. Although the magnitude of correlation differed, there was significant positive correlation among BMI, age, systolic and diastolic BP. Odd ratios showed overweight/obese subjects to be more likely to have hypertension than those with normal BMI. Changing socioeconomic environment intensifies the prevalence of overweight/obesity and hypertension among the Tangkhul Nagas.

The prevalence of overweight/obesity is increasing worldwide. Although countries like India are typically thought of as having a high prevalence of undernutrition, significant proportions of overweight/obese now co-exist with the undernourished. This study aims to find the prevalence of overweight/obesity, and its association with socioeconomic change, among Tangkhul women in India. The cross-sectional study was carried out among 346 Tangkhul women aged 20-70 years, who were divided into five 10-year age groups. Mean BMI was found to be lowest among the youngest age group, and it increased with age until the age of 59 and then declined. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was found to be 27.1%, as assessed from the Asian cut-off point. Although the prevalence of obesity (2.0%) was low when compared with Indian non-tribal female populations, the prevalence of overweight (25.1%) was not far behind. Overweight and obesity were found to be associated with age, marital status, physical activity level, lifestyle and improvement in socioeconomic status, especially occupation and income. When compared with urban non-tribal Indian females, who have a higher socioeconomic status, the prevalence of overweight/obesity among Tangkhul females is lower, indicating its association with socioeconomic status. Tangkhul Naga is a population where the majority are believed to be thin traditionally owing to the difficult hilly terrain and their physically active lifestyle. With urbanization and economic development, nutritional transition, improved socioeconomic status and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle have been observed, which have contributed to the increasing prevalence of overweight/obesity among Tangkhul Naga women.

Objective:To study the relationship of ethnicity with overweight/obesity, variation in adiposity levels, regional distribution of fat and its impact on cardio-respiratory health among selected ethnic groups.Materials and methods:A cross-sectional study was carried out among 300 young adults of three ethnic groups from different geographical regions of India ranging in age from 20 to 30 years. Stature, weight, circumferences, body fat percentage, and skinfold thicknesses were measured. Obesity indices like body mass index (BMI), grand mean thickness (GMT), waist hip ratio (WHR), waist height ratio (WHtR), and conicity index (CI) were computed. Cardio-respiratory health indicators such as lung functions including forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1.0), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory ratio (FER), peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), breath holding time (BHT), and systolic and diastolic BP (blood pressure) were taken and associated with obesity indices.Results:General body fat deposition, assessed by BMI, GMT, and fat percentage, was found to be the highest among Delhi females and males. However, central adiposity as assessed from WHR, WHtR, and CI was found to be significantly higher among the Manipur subjects signifying a relatively more androidal pattern of fat deposition. Most of the inter-group differences for adiposity indices were significant; however, it was not so in the case of blood pressure among different ethnic groups. On the other hand, the respiratory efficiency varied significantly between different ethnic groups. Ethnicity, adiposity, and cardio-respiratory health were found to be interrelated.Conclusions:Subjects belonging to three ethnic groups showed marked differences in different body dimension, adiposity indices, and cardio-respiratory health. Central obesity has been found to be a better pointer for cardiovascular health risk. There were ethnic and gender differences with respect to adiposity measures and cardio-respiratory health indicators

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The present study comprises of cross sectional data on 414 Punjabi Khatri adolescent boys at a yearly interval from age 11 through 17 years. This group was compared with endogamous 140 Jat Sikhs, an agricultural land owning rural community, for profile of fatness. The anthropometric measurements taken on adolescent boys include weight, stature and skinfold thickness at biceps, triceps, suprailiac and medial calf. A gradual increase of weight from 11 to 16 years and a marginal increase from 16 to 17 years among the Punjabi Khatri boys is noticed, the same being true for stature also. The Jat Sikh boys increase gradually with peak increase in stature at 13-14 years of age followed by peak increase in weight at 14-15 years. Adolescent Punjabi khatri adolescents have more BMI than Jat Sikhs. Among the Punjabi khatri adolescent boys there is a fluctuation in fat content when calculated from GMT with maximum fat content at 12 years and in subsequent years it declines though pattern is inconsistent. As for Jat Sikh boys, maximum GMT is at 14 years and then fat decreases during the period. Biceps remains the site of minimum fat in all the age groups in both Punjabi khatri and Jat Sikh adolescent boys. The pattern is same in all the age groups in Punjabi khatri boys affirming the phenomenon of redistribution of fat away from extremity towards the trunk. As far as Jat Sikh adolescent boys are concerned there is an intersite shift at 17 years from suprailiac to medial calf deviating from the usual away from extremity towards the trunk. Suprailiac is the most sensitive site followed by medial calf in both adolescent Punjabi khatri and Jat Sikh boys.