Seema Daud, Faiza Javaid.
Estimation of body mass index (BMI) in medical students.
Pak J Med Health Sci Jan ;5(4):702-5.

Objectives: To determine the BMI status of undergraduate medical students. Design: A descriptive cross sectional study. Place of study: Lahore Medical & Dental College (LMDC), Lahore. Duration of study: January to March, 2011. Methodology: Body weight and height were of 136 fourth year MBBS students measured and body mass index (BMI) values were calculated by dividing weight with (height). Under weight, normal weight, 0verweight and obesity were defined using WHO international standard BMI cut-offs. Additional information including gender and age were obtained using a structured proforma. Data was entered and cleaned using SPSS version 16 computer package. Data was presented in the form of graphs and described in numbers and percentages. Results: Among the MBBS students interviewed, 70% were in the age group 20 to 22 years and 57% were females. The mean height of the students was167.7 metres (sd= 10.8); males 176.6 meters (sd= 6.3) and females 160.90 meters (sd= 8.4). The mean weight of the students was 67.7 kg (sd=14.1); males 72.14 kg (sd=13.3) and females 60.79 kg (sd=12.7. Overall, 60% of students were within the normal weight range overweight (66% males and 56% females). Around 27% male and female students were overweight. Obesity was found in 7% of students (3% males and 9% females). The 6% underweight students included 8% males and 3% females. Conclusion: Being overweight is a rising problem of male and female medical students. Both obesity and under weight issues are more common in female students.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com