In the present cross-sectional study, an attempt has been made to report the prevalence of overweight and obesity in school-going children of the affluent families of Punjab. A total of 1000 children (490 boys and 510 girls) were measured for height and weight. Overweight and obesity were assessed using age and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) cut-off points. In the present study, 12.24% boys and 14.31% girls were overweight, and 5.92% boys and 6.27% girls were obese. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among the affluent school children of Punjab was as high or higher as in some developed countries.

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Objective: The present study was aimed at evaluating the correlation between leptin and hypertension in normal and obese hypertensive pre-(Pre-M) and postmenopausal (Post-M) women of Jalandhar city (Punjab, India). Design: For the present study, 78 Pre-M and Post-M women were recruited in four categories as follows: i) normal normotensive, ii) obese normotensive, iii) normal hypertensive, and iv) obese hypertensive. Body mass index was considered as the index of obesity. Guidelines given by JNC-VII were followed for the assessment of hypertension. Leptin was assayed by sandwich ELISA, and estradiol (E 2 ) was assayed by competitive ELISA. Results: Leptin level was found to be significantly higher in normal Pre-M women (P!0.02) than that of normal Post-M women. Obese subjects had significantly higher leptin level (P!0.001) than the normal women. In the case of hypertensive subjects, leptin level was significantly higher than that of normotensive counterparts. E 2 level was found significantly lower in Post-M women (P!0.001) than that of Pre-M women as well as in hypertensive women than that of normotensive subjects. A positive correlation was observed between blood pressure (BP) and leptin, but significant association was observed in hypertensive normal and obese Pre-M and Post-M women only. Conclusion: It is concluded from the present findings that leptin contributes to the regulation of BP in hypertensive normal as well as in the obese Pre-M and Post-M women. So, leptin may be a regulator of BP in hypertensive women independent of the degree of obesity and the menopausal status.