Abstract The rapid growth in the epidemic of obesity has been a major health concern worldwide. Obesity in adolescent is the repercussion of childhood obesity. It is considered as a serious, long-term (chronic) disease. There has been an intense rise in the health care costs as compared to the previous decades due to obesity amongst children & adolescents. Overweight and obesity refer to having too much body fat. The causes for rise in obesity could be various like high intake of calorie food, lack of physical activities, etc. The aim of this research was to find about the awareness of obesity among the adolescent group and causes contributing towards it. The research has further objective to find out the extent of awareness in adolescents, about the basic nutrients contributing to the balanced diet. The data was collected from the group of adolescents, where the percentage of overweight is rapidly increasing. Prevention may include primary anticipation of overweight or obesity, healthy diet and exercise. Keywords: Obesity, Adolescents, Childhood Prevalence and Associated Factors of Obesity among Adolescents Sarika Joshi* * Assistant Professor, AISSMS CHMCT, Pune, Maharashtra, India. Email: sarikaamitjoshi@gmail.com INTRODUCTION One of the most common concerns related to today’s lifestyle is being overweight and obese. The prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased in all parts of the world among children and adults alike. Due to this the problems related to obesity which were commonly found in adults are becoming very common in adolescents. Obesity is a major factor contributing towards many chronic disorders such as heart and respiratory diseases, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and some cancers. This has increased the mortality rate in many developing countries. Weight gain and perception of being obese has led to many psychological problems among adolescents. Research in this feld has shown that the health risks of excessive body fat are associated with Article can be accessed online at http://www.publishingindia.com increase in body weight, resulting in obesity. Adolescent obesity may further have complications related to job placements, marriage, especially in girls. In summary, the childhood and adolescent obesity may cause several physical and psychological problems. It is a concern for public health hazard and needs to formulate strategies for its prevention. Due to this reason, the experts in medical profession and the policy maker authorities are paying increasing attention to it. However, the best metric to measure obesity has always been somewhat debatable to the nutrition experts. Body mass index (BMI) which relates weight to height, with standardized categories has been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and it is now used worldwide as a metric to check obesity. BMI categories include overweight and obese. Overweight for an adult is defned as having a BMI of between 25.0 and 29.9, while an adult is considered to be obese with a BMI of 30.0 and greater. Causes of Obesity Even though the mechanism of development in obesity is not fully understood, it is sure that it occurs when the intake of energy through food is more than the energy spend through activities. There are multiple reasons for this imbalance, hence, and the rising prevalence of obesity cannot be addressed by a single cause. Some of the commonly observed factors responsible for the increase rate in obesity are discussed below: 1. Lack of Energy Balance: Energy balance means that energy in is not equal to energy out. 2. Inactive Lifestyle: Sedentary lifestyle which means involving in tasks like TV watching, la- ziness, playing video games, less walking, etc. may contribute to accumulation of body fat.