Comparative Study of Working and Non-working Women and its Relation with Obesity

Obesity or over nutrition is a menace to health and it is a public health problem of the well to do people. Obesity is a condition in which there is excessive weight gain in the body. An increase of 10 per cent over the ideal weight or optimal weight is termed obesity. Excessive weight gain is mainly due to high intake of food. When more energy is taken through food and less is utilized through activities, the excess energy is converted into fat and is deposited as adipose tissues. Modern medicine emphasizes this statement. Apart from physical handicaps, it produces psychological setbacks. Working and non-working women were selected for the study because obesity is a burning problem, not only in India but all over the world. In the present study, 30 working and 30 non-working women were studied. A questionnaire was designed to collect the information along with personal interview of the subjects like standard weight for females, socio-economical status, various reasons of increasing the weight, food habit, physical and mental health and obesity.Age of onset of obesity was between 30 and 40 years, which could be due to hormonal changes. Other important causes of obesity seen in the study were irregular menstruation and caesarian. Consumption of junk food and high calorie bakery items are also responsible for obesity. Obesity invites several physical and mental health problems. Awareness about preventive and curative measures for obesity was found less. Sedentary life style and use of television as a means of entertainment has major role to play in causing obesity.