International Journal of Nursing Education and Research. 8(3): July – September, 2020 314 ISSN 2347-8640 (Print) 2454-2660 (Online) DOI: 10.5958/2454-2660.2020.00068.X Vol. 08 |Issue-03| July – September| 2020 Available online at www.anvpublication.org International Journal of Nursing Education and Research Home page www.ijneronline.com RESEARCH ARTICLE Prevalence and Factors Contributing to Obesity among College Girls Namita Batra Guin 1 , Navneet 2 , Neha Bhatia 2 , Neha 2 , Nitika 2 1 Associate Professor, Rama College of Nursing, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh 2 B.Sc 4 th Year Students at Saraswati Nursing Institute, Kurali, Punjab *Corresponding Author E-mail: namitabatra86@gmail.com ABSTRACT: Background: Obesity is a major public health problem affecting one third to one half of adult population worldwide. According to WHO Global estimates, more than 1.9 billion adults aged 18 years and older were overweight. Of these over 650 million adults were obese. In 2016, 39% adults aged 18 years and over, were overweight, where 40% of the females were found to be overweight. Over all, about 13% of worl d’s adult population (11% of men and 15% of women) were obese in 2016. The worldwide prevalence of obesity nearly tripled between 1975 and 2016. The increased prevalence of obesity has lead to rise in the level of metabolic and non-metabolic consequences. Metabolic consequences of obesity includes: elevated levels of triglyceride, insulin resistance, hypertension, ischaemic heart diseases. Non metabolic hazards associated with obesity are Osteoarthritis and gout, Reflux esophagitis, Cholelithiasis, poor post surgical risk, Abdominal hernia, depression and anxiety and poor body image etc. Objectives: 1. To determine the prevalence of obesity using obesity indicators among college girls. 2. To determine the factors contributing to obesity among college girls. 3. To find out the association between prevalence of obesity and factors contributing to obesity. 4. To determine the association between prevalence of obesity and selected demographic variables. Methods and Materials: A non- experimental research approach with cross- sectional design was adopted for the study. The study was conducted at selected Institute of Roopnagar. Purposive sampling with total enumeration technique was used to select the sample. The sample comprised of 233 college girls studying B.Sc (N) and GNM at the selected institute of nursing. Result: The study reveals that according to waist circumference 7.72% of the subjects had obesity according to BMI 3.9% subjects were obese and according to waist hip ratio only 8.2% college girls were found to be obese. Conclusion: The present study concludes that the prevalence of obesity was found to be less among college girls where as overweight girls were comparatively more. However, the study also found underweight college girls which accounts to 30.9% of the total girls. The study recommends consumption of well balanced nutritious diet along with physical activity to decreases the chance of obesity among college girls. It also recommends the preparation of obesity guidelines specifically for the young adults. KEYWORDS: Obesity, obesity indicators, factors, college girls. INTRODUCTION: Obesity is a major public health problem affecting one third to one half of adult population worldwide. Developed and developing countries are equally threatened by this complex condition. [1] According to WHO Global estimates, in 2016, more than 1.9 billion Received on 21.02.2020 Modified on 20.03.2020 Accepted on 18.04.2020 © AandV Publications all right reserved Int. J. Nur. Edu. and Research. 2020; 8(3):314-320. DOI: 10.5958/2454-2660.2020.00068.X adults aged 18 years and older were overweight. Of these over 650 million adults were obese. In 2016, 39% adults aged 18 years and above (39% of men and 40% of women) were overweight, about 13% of world’s adult population (11% of men and 15% of women) were obese in 2016. [2] The worldwide prevalence of obesity nearly trippled between 1975 and 2016.[3] Developed countries are only now beginning to recognize 18-25 years old as a ‘vulnerable group’ for unhealthy life styles leading to overweight and obesity. [4] The major contributors to obesity are behavioural, environmental and genetic