Clinching an engineering seat may be a matter of pride, but merely poring over books is not really upping students' health. A study that covered 355 engineering college students in Chennai found that close to 20% of them were overweight, 5% were obese and 25% were underweight, hinting at unhealthy eating habits and lifestyle.
The figures, published in the International Journal of Health Sciences and Research, were compiled by a team of professors from the department of physiology in Sri Muthukumaran Medical College. They measured the height and weight of 249 male and 106 female students in the engineering college situated close to their campus and found that 50% of them had abnormal body mass index (measurement of body fat based on height and weight).
Dr Muthukumar Sadhasivam, who led the survey , said the team chose engineering students because unlike the curriculum in arts colleges, professional colleges rarely emphasise on physical activities. “When we asked the students what they do in their spare time, only 15 of them said they go to the gym or engage in some sport,“ said Dr Sadhasivam. “Many of them said they eat unhealthy snacks while watching TV .It's not hunger that drives most,“ he said.
Doctors found that at 25% of the women were underweight. “And what's surprising is that many of them didn't know they had abnormal BMI,“ said Dr Anandarajan B, head of the department of physiology . “They seemed to look fit, but many of the taller ones were overweight.“
A raised BMI is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders especially osteoarthiritis, some types of cancer. The risk of non-communicable diseases increases with increase in BMI. Six students in the overweight category recorded high systolic BP. What surprised researchers even more was the uptick in the blood pressure readings of six students who had normal BMI.“This could be stress-related,“ said Dr Sadhasivam.
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