64.9% people living in Delhi slum found to be overweight
What's the story
Nearly half of a group of healthy individuals in a Delhi slum were found to be overweight while 17.2% were obese, stated a survey.
Almost 64.9% of 314 individuals who were assessed during a camp were found either overweight or obese, which are important risk factors for heart and vascular diseases.
20.1% reported the use of tobacco products while 37.3% had high blood pressure.
Information
Survey was conducted on 500 individuals
Around 500 individuals were evaluated and examined for body mass index (BMI), obesity, blood pressure measurement, spot blood sugar, blood lipids, and an electrocardiogram (ECG) at a recent camp by a team of doctors from Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre (BHMRC).
High blood pressure
37.7% of persons had high blood pressure
"37.3% of the persons had high blood pressure as per the current Indian definition of 140/90 mms Hg," said Dr. Upendra Kaul, Chairman and Dean Academics and Research at Batra Hospital.
"It needs to be mentioned that the US definition has changed recently to above 130/80 mms Hg and going by that parameter, it would be an alarming figure of around 50%," he added.
Blood sugar levels
66.1% of persons had blood sugar levels between 101-200 mg/dL
Also, analysis of their blood sugar levels revealed a disturbing pattern.
66.1% of the persons had blood sugar levels between 101-200 mg/dL (average 137 mg/dL) while 8.5% had blood sugar levels above 200 mg/dL with only 11% of them reporting a family history of diabetes.
Also, 14.5% had borderline high cholesterol levels (200-239 mg/dL) while 3.2% had high cholesterol levels, exceeding 240 mg/dL.
ECG abnormalities
8.9% of evaluated people had definite ECG abnormalities
ECG performed on them found that 8.9% of them had definite ECG abnormalities indicating a very high probability of a past cardiac event without any history (silent attacks). Minor ECG changes were seen in around 21.5% subjects.
"71% of the subjects had one or more comorbidities contributing to the elevated risk for a cardiac episode in this apparently healthy population,"Dr. Kaul said.
Young people affected
Survey warns of alarming situation
"The implication of these findings in the low-income population, many of whom are working as daily wagers and involved in menial jobs, is obvious," Kaul said.
"This also an alarm bell as about half of the surveyed population was young (between 25-44 years only). Health education and imparting knowledge regarding healthy lifestyle should be undertaken in this area on top priority," he added.
Data
51.3% of people evaluated belonged to 25-44 years
51.3% of the 314 persons evaluated were in the age group of 25-44 years, 34.4% were in the age bracket of 45-64 years while only 6.7% were 65 years and above. Only 7.6% of those evaluated belonged to the age group of 5-14 years.