A National Survey of the Prevalence of Anemia and Obesity in Indian School Children

BACKGROUND: In India, the socioeconomic shift in the past few decades has led to a sedentary lifestyle with poor dietary habits, leading to an increased incidence of overweight and obesity in children. Furthermore, obesity and anemia share some common links. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we have prevalence of anemia and obesity in Indian schoolchildren. METHODS: The study was carried out on 1675 children and adolescent participants aged 6–18 years for the prevalence of obesity and anemia. Height, weight, waist and hip circumference were taken. Hemoglobin levels was measured for each participant. RESULTS: Males and females differed in height (p = 0.007), waist circumference (p = 0.019), waist-to-hip ratio (p < 0.001) and hemoglobin levels (p < 0.001). A total of 294 girls (44.4%) and 283 boys (29.7%) were anemic. There were significant differences between BMI within age groups for both boys (p < 0.001) and girls (p < 0.001). The highest percentage of anemia was observed in the 12–14 years age group in girls (54.2%) and 15–18 years-old boys (54.2%). Among the obese children, 28.2% were anemic, while 29.3% of overweight children were anemic (Pearson’s chi-squared = 7.68, p = 0.020). CONCLUSION: This study sheds light on the prevalence of obesity and anemia in Indian schoolchildren and adolescents, while also suggesting an association between the two conditions. Nutritional counselling as well as lifestyle modification should be advocated in school curricula to make an early impact.