~ 824 ~ International Journal of Physiology, Nutrition and Physical Education 2018; 3(2): 824-825 ISSN: 2456-0057 IJPNPE 2018; 3(2): 824-825 © 2018 IJPNPE www.journalofsports.com Received: 23-09-2018 Accepted: 28-10-2018 Prachi Marwaha Assistant Professor, HOD, Department of Home Science, K.S College, Laheriasarai, Darbhanga, Bihar, India Sudha Tiwari Research Scholar, M. H. College of Home Science and Science for Women (Auto), Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India Correspondence Prachi Marwaha Assistant Professor, HOD, Department of Home Science, K.S College, Laheriasarai, Darbhanga, Bihar, India Impact of meal skipping on the body mass index of adults Prachi Marwaha and Sudha Tiwari Abstract Obesity has been declared as a global pandemic. The effect of meal skipping may have an impact on the BMI. The purpose of our study was to examine the influence of meal skipping on the Body Mass Index (BMI) of adult subjects. A total of 172 adult persons were selected for this study. Their anthropometric measurement was done and dietary intake was calculated from recall method with the help of questionnaire. The mean score of Body mass index of meal skipping group is 29.92 which was significantly higher than 25.85 mean BMI of those subjects who do not skip their meal. It may be concluded that the meal skipping is strongly associated with increased risk of obesity. Keywords: obesity, meal skipping, body mass index 1. Introduction Obesity has been declared as a global pandemic that constituted one of the leading future threats to public health. This is a metabolic disorder, which is rarely incurable and is spreading to all the age groups. Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health. Body mass index (BMI) is a simple index of weight for height that is commonly used to classify overweight and obesity in adults. BMI provides the most useful measures of overweight and obesity as it is the same for both sexes and for all ages of adults. An increased level of BMI may cause many degenerative diseases like diabetes, hypertension, polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD), varicose vein, cardiovascular ailments, certain type cancer and other chronic diseases. The numerous behavioral risks contributing factors including high energy intake, consumption of energy dense food (fast food), alcohol, sedentary life style, erratic eating habits are leading cause to silent self-destruction, making one in every five Indian men and women either obsess or overweight. Among various causes of obesity or overweight meal skipping has not been recognized as potential risk factor. People often miss meals because they get busy or are trying to lose weight. Although skipping a meal on rare occasions is harmless, skipping meals often does have negative health effects. Meal skipping increases the feeling of hungriness at the time of next meal consumption and this could cause to eat more calories than usual. Skipping meal has been associated with obesity in several scientific studies. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have shown that regularly skipping breakfast is associated with greater body mass index (BMI) in all age groups. The main objective of our study was to examine the prevalence of meal skipping in male and female adults and to determine the effect of meal skipping on BMI of adults in Jabalpur city. 2. Material and Methods A total of 172 persons between age group of 25-45 years, who do not exercise were taken for this study out of which 86 were overweight or obese and 86 persons with normal weight. Exclusion criterion includes persons with other metabolic disorder (diabetes mellitus and hypothyroidism) and on other medications and pregnancy. A predesigned questionnaire was used for data collection. The questionnaire includes information regarding dietary factors and physical activity. A dietary recall method was used to assess the number of meals skipped. Standing height and weight of the study subjects were measured in light clothes without shoes and BMI is calculated by weight in kilograms divided