STUDY OF RISK FACTORS OF LIFE STYLE DISEASES IN ADOLESCENT STUDENTS OF

MANIMALA VILLAGE.

Rintu Thomas
B.Ed. Student (Natural Science)
Mount Carmel College of Teacher Education, Kottayam

ABSTRACT
Lifestyle diseases are different from other diseases because they are potentially preventable
and can be controlled with the changes in diet and lifestyle. Today our eating habits are different
from those of a generation ago in all ways. Fast food, takeaways and eating out are part of life for
teenagers. There are many changes during adolescence that can cause changes in eating behavior.
It can be very difficult for parents of teenagers to convince their children of the benefits of
healthier eating when they are also competing with the powerful messages of food advertising and
taste. This study attempts to find out the risk factors of life style diseases in adolescent students of
Manimala village. The study was conducted using survey method and it was found that students of
Manimala village are affected from various life style diseases and the boys are more vulnerable to
these diseases.

INTRODUCTION

Lifestyle diseases in adults have been related to the prevalence of risk factors in childhood
and adolescents. Most of these diseases have the relationship between the development of non-
communicable diseases and the interactions between the environment, the genetic predisposition
and lifestyle. Atherosclerotic process begins in childhood and is influenced by genetics, diet and
lifestyle. Lifestyle diseases like hypertension, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and Type 2
diabetes mellitus with their complications now emerge as the most severe health problems in
developed and developing countries like India. These diseases take a tremendous toll in premature
sickness, disability, death and have a major economic impact on its victim and health care delivery
system. At present the health care system do not focus on adolescent friendly preventive health
services. A highly structured family life, education with appropriate intervention and counseling
services can tackle many of these issues.
This study was planned to evaluate the incidence of obesity, hypertension and the incidence
of under nutrition in adolescents of students in Manimala village in Kottayam district.
NEED AND SIGNIFICANCE
This study has relevance and importance in the present society as alcoholism, smoking and
fast food cultures has got its clutches on its people. Alcoholism is a major cause of death of many
people in many countries. It causes diseases such as Liver cirrhosis, heart diseases etc and many
organs of our body gets malfunctioned. Nowadays due to the busy life many people avoid there
food form home and runs behind the fast food culture which lets alone a nutrient rich balanced diet
but injects in us large amounts of fats. This study point towards the health problems related to the
modern lifestyle habits followed by our society.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To identify the occurrence of lifestyle diseases in adolescent students of Manimala

village.
To identify the reasons for the occurrence of lifestyle diseases in people of the study
area.
To understand the sex wise differences in the incidence of disease.

METHODOLOGY
This was a prospective cohort study based on teenage screening questionnaire and clinical
examination. A total of 100 adolescents including 50 boys and 50 girls, in the age group of 20 to 25
years were included in the study. All adolescents were from middle and lower middle class of the
society. The study was carried out after obtaining assent. General demographic data was collected
through a questionnaire along with family history and dietary information like intake of fast food,
bakery items. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated by the formula of Weight (Kg)/ Height (m 2).
Age and sex specific BMI references from child development centre (CDC) were used. BMI less
than 15 was termed as underweight, between 15-22 as normal, whereas BMI between 22-25 as
overweight and 25-30 as obesity. Data are collected from 100 adolescent students in Manimala
village.

ANLYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

The mean Body Mass Index for boys was 20.76kg/m 2 and for girls it was 21.02kg/m2 as
shown in the study done in AIIMS, New Delhi and AFMC, Pune [9]. BMI in our study was
19.11kg/m2 for boys and 18.92kg/m2 for girls. Low BMI in our study as compared to study done in
AIIMS, New Delhi may be because of difference in socio-economic status of the subjects.
In our study, prevalence of systolic hypertension (Blood Pressure > 140mmHg) was found
to be 3%, out of which 4% were boys and 2% were girls, which is statistically significant. Other
students were having normal blood pressure. Results reported by us are comparable to other
studies.
In our study, 98% of adolescents were watching television for 1 to 2 hours; the television
watching was an independent predictor of change in BMI Children who watched the most
television during childhood had the greatest increase in body fat overtime. Furthermore, adverse
effect of television viewing was worse for those children who were also sedentary or had a higher
fat containing diet.
70

60

50

40
Boys
30 Girls

20

10

0
Average Height Average weight BMI

Graph Showing Average- Height, Weight & BMI of Boys & Girls

It was found that 92% of (49% girls and 43% boys) students had moderate health risk.
Food habits of students indicated that 94% of them were eating fast food and bakery items,
including 96% girls and 82% boys. Out of them 22.5% were eating fast food daily, 44.5% weekly
and 22% monthly. About 62% of boys and 72% of girls reported to be eating fast food or bakery
items either once a day or once a week. Out of them, 19 students were taking fast food either every
day or weekly.
About 40% of adolescents responded as being physically active and doing strenuous
exercise for more than three hours per week. Boys (54%) were seen to be more physically active
and doing heavy exercise than girls (25%).
 Our study showed that 5% boys smoked one cigarette or beedis per day. So those students
who tried smoking had high risk of becoming regular smokers which would then increase their risk
of developing lifestyle diseases.
Regarding lifestyle factors, alcohol was seen to be consumed up to one to three drinks by
13% of boys and 2% of girls. Tobacco chewing was seen in 4% boys. 3.5% of boys reported to be
using drugs. No any girl reported use of drugs.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Childhood obesity along with its associated health problems like lifestyle diseases can
largely be attributed to the transformation in the lifestyles of young adolescents. From being
physically active and consuming more of home cooked food to being more and more home bound,
adolescents are spending more time on the internet, video games, television and easy accessibility
of fast food with growing prosperity. It has been shown in various studies that the prevalence of
risk factors for non-communicable (lifestyle) diseases in childhood and adolescence bears
significant tendency towards development of diseases in adulthood. Risk behaviors adopted in
adolescent years elevate the likelihood of developing lifestyle diseases or other complications in
the adults. There is a high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents from high risk
families. Therefore its primary prevention is an important factor. A positive family history of
premature coronary heart disease is recognized as an independent predictor for cardiovascular
mortality in the first degree relatives. This will enable public health and behavioral epidemiologists
to plan and target appropriate and effective preventive lifestyle techniques to adolescents.

Sending health promoting messages through various organizations such as family groups,
schools, colleges, religious groups, hospitals, research institutions, mass media, Governmental
agencies and nongovernmental organizations could prevent health risk behaviors during
childhood and adolescents. Imparting knowledge, inculcating preventive behavior and increasing
youths value expectancy towards a healthy lifestyle could ultimately help in the prevention of
lifestyle diseases and other health problems.

REFERENCES

1. Al- maskari (2010), lifestyle diseases an economic burden on the health services.
2. Demarin V,Lisak M,Morovic S (2011) Mediterraneandietin healthy lifestyle and
prevention of stroke . Acta Clin Croat 50: 67-77
3. Emersson A,Nystrom FH ,Lindstrom T (2010) Long-term increase of fat mas after a four
week intervention with fast food based hyper-alimentation and limitation of physical
activity . nutr Metab 7:68.
4. Study of risk factors lifestyle diseases among adolescents in western India by S V Mane,S
R Agarkhedkar, G R Karambelkar