ABSTRACT-Background: Obesity is rising in medical students due to their stressful academic calendar and sparse time for sports. Obesity is aggravated by the regular drinking of alcohol, a recreational and stress-busting activity, particularly for the male students. Obesity leads to insulin resistance. Homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) >2 has been reported to independently predict cardiovascular risk. Although many studies are there on obesity of medical students, few studies exist in Central India on the prevalence of insulin resistance in medical students. Therefore, prevalence of insulin resistance and its association with obesity and alcoholism was investigated in the first year male medical students of LN Medical College, Bhopal, India. Methods: 50 male medical students of first year were investigated and considered overweight/obese if BMI>=23 or centrally obese if waist circumference (WC)>=90cm. Alcohol intake of more than 20gm per day was considered as high alcohol intake. HOMA-IR was calculated from fasting glucose and fasting insulin, whereas HOMA-IR>=2 was regarded as high. Results: Insulin resistance measured by HOMA-IR>=2 was found in 40%, central obesity as per waist circumference in 20%, overall obesity/overweight as per BMI in 60% and alcoholism in 42%. Significant association was found between insulin resistance and central obesity measured by waist circumference (p value 0.001), but not with BMI and alcoholism. Conclusion: Prevalence of insulin resistance in first year male medical students was high and insulin resistance was significantly associated with central obesity.

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