Knowledge, attitude, and practice towards obesity among the general public in community settings of Tirupati: a cross-sectional study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2349-3933.ijam20221704Keywords:
Obesity, Overweight, Risk factors, KAPAbstract
Background: Obesity and overweight are strongly linked to developing diabetes, hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, and endocrine disorders. Knowledge, attitude, and practices of the public are crucial in limiting the burden of obesity in the Indian community. The current study aims to assess the KAP of obesity among the general public of India.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in the rural and urban areas of Tirupati city. Adults aged 18 years or above who are willing to participate, were included. A total of 300 subjects were enrolled and data was collected by using a pre-validated questionnaire. Variables like weight, height and KAP scores were obtained. Chi-square tests were used to associate demographics with good KAP towards obesity.
Results: The findings show that more than half of the participants have good knowledge, and a positive attitude, but the practices are not optimal in dealing with obesity and management. Participants’ ages more than 40 years, presence of comorbidity, risk factors, and social habits are significantly associated with obesity and overweight. Obese are having good knowledge but normal-weight people are significantly associated with a positive attitude. Participants of normal weight, no risk factor, and no habits were significantly associated with rational practices.
Conclusions: The study concludes that the participants had good knowledge and attitude toward obesity but the participants failed to practice controlling and preventing obesity. However, more efforts are required in creating awareness and educating the general population regarding physical activity, diet, and lifestyle in preventing obesity and its associated complications.
References
Guruprasad V, Sharma P, Binu VS, Banumathe Kr, Saha S. Knowledge, attitude, and practices about obesity among obese homemakers in urban udupi: A Cross-Sectional study. Indian J Publ Health Rese Develop. 2018;9(10):282.
Waghmare VS, Pathak S, Das S, Mendhe HG, Kesh SB. Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, Practice on Obesity and Associated Disorders among Young Adults. Int J Physiol. 2019;7(1):108.
Vasanthan MVM. Effectiveness of Educative session on knowledge, attitude and practice, on diabetes and dyslipidemia, of patients attending a private medical college hospital in South-India. Biomed Pharmacol J. 2021; 14(4):2199-204.
Sreshtaa VS, Gayathri R, Priya VV. Knowledge awareness and perception on comorbidities of obesity among dental students: a survey. JPRI. 2021;299-309.
Reethesh SR, Ranjan P, Arora C, Kaloiya GS, Vikram NK, Dwivedi SN, et al. Development and validation of a questionnaire assessing knowledge, attitude, and practices about obesity among obese individuals. Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2019;23(1):102-10.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Final Compendium of fact sheets_India and 14 States_UTs (Phase-II). Available at: http://rchiips.org/nfhs/NFHS5_FCTS/Final%20endium%20of%20fact%20sheets_India%21. Accessed on 29 April 2022.
Alhawiti R. Knowledge, attitude, and practice about obesity among adults (18-45 years) in primary health care in Medina, KSA 2019. IJMDC. 2021;648-55.
Anwar A, Hussain M, Sarwar H, Afzal M, Gilani SA. Knowledge Attitude and Practice about Obesity and Its Complication in Rural Area of Lahore. Int J Soc Sci Mgt. 2018;5(3): 187-91.
Kigaru DMD, Loechl C, Moleah T, Macharia-Mutie CW, Ndungu ZW. Nutrition knowledge, attitude and practices among urban primary school children in Nairobi City, Kenya: a KAP study. BMC Nutr. 2015; 1(1):44.
Liu H, Xu X, Liu D, Rao Y, Reis C, Sharma M, et al. Nutrition-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) among Kindergarten Teachers in Chongqing, China: A Cross-Sectional Survey. IJERPH. 2018; 15(4):615.
Wirth A, Wabitsch M, Hauner H. The prevention and treatment of obesity. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2014; 111(42):705-13.