98 KMUJ 2013, Vol. 5 No. 2 C K C K C K C K ORIGINAL ARTICLE 1  Lecturer, Department of Community Health Sciences, Rehman Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan 2 Medical student, Rehman Medi- cal College, Peshawar, Pakistan Email: usf2907@yahoo.com 3-6 Rehman Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan 7 Lecturer, Department of Community Health Sciences, Rehman Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan. Date submitted: March 11, 2013 Date revised: May 18, 2013 Date accepted: May 22, 2013 INTRODUCTION O besity is an intensifying public health problem; therefore, its prevalence has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare it a “global epidemic”. 1 They are defined as abnormal or exces- sive fat accumulation that may impair health. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1.4 billion adults overweight - of these over 200 million men and nearly 300 million women are clinically obese. 2 Overweight and obesity is a result of positive energy balance over an extend- ed period of time, where energy intake exceeds energy expenditure. While there are specific genetic disorders that give rise to overweight and obesity, recent epidemiological trends indicate that the rise in overweight and obesity is a result of environmental and behavioral changes. 3 In modern society, energy dense food is abundant while the energy demands of individuals are considerably reduced. The expansion of food production industry has brought about a higher consumption of diets that are high in energy, protein and fat and low in complex carbohydrate. The change in family structure and lon- ger working hours have resulted in an increased demand for convenience foods that are generally of poor nutritional quality than foods prepared at home. Over the period of time there have been substantial dietary changes including the passive over consumption of energy, despite our neurobiological processes controlling food intake. 4 Obesity and overweight pose a ma- jor risk for serious diet-related chronic diseases, including type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, and certain forms of cancer. 5,6 The health consequences range from increased risk of premature death, to SELF REPORTING OF OBESITY, OVERWEIGHT AND HEALTH RISKS AMONG 1ST YEAR MBBS STUDENTS OF REHMAN MEDICAL COLLEGE, PESHAWAR Sher Bahadur 1 , Muhammed Yousaf 2  , Hafiz Mehmood Ayaz 3 , Zamara Sohail 4 , Atiq Ur Rehman 5 , Saiqa Baloch 6 , Syed Imran Gilani 7 ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: to find out the frequency of obesity, overweight and health risks among the 1st year medical students of Rehman Medical College Peshawar, Pakistan. METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Rehman Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan from April to July 2011. A self ad- ministered questionnaire was given to 100 students of 1st year MBBS, of which 80 responded. Data was collected using structured questionnaire and anthropometric indices were measured using standard tools for measuring weight hip ratio (WHR) and body mass index (BMI). Data analysis was done using SPSS 16.0. RESULTS: The mean age of the students was 19.3+0.78 years. Out of 80 students (male=46 and females=34), 13 (16.2%) were obese (BMI ≥ 27), 12 (15%) students were overweight (BMI ≥ 23) while 47 (58.8%) weighted normal (BMI 18.5 to 22.9). The WHR calculations showed that majority of the students (58.8%) were falling under low health risk category, 13.8% were in the category of moderate health risk and 5% students were under the category of high health risk. Obesity and over- weight was more frequent among male students while female students were more dominant in the category of moderate and high health risks. CONCLUSION: Frequency of obesity and overweight is more amongst the male students as compared to female students while more female students are at moderate and high health risk. Since medical students are over occupied with their studies, efforts should be made on pro- moting low intensity long duration physical activity. KEY WORDS: Obesity, Overweight, BMI, Weight Hip Ratio, Medical Students, Health Risks. THIS ARTICLE MAY BE CITED AS: Bahadur S, Yousaf M, Ayaz HM , So- hail Z, Rehman AU, Baloch S, et al. Self reporting of obesity, overweight and health risks among 1st year MBBS students of Rehman medical college, Peshawar. Khyber Med Univ J 2013; 5(2): 98-102.