Venkateswara Babu R, Sivaganesh Devaraj V, Sabarigirivasan Harish V. K
BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to examine the difference in the measure of Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) between overweight, obese and non-obese school going children in the age group of 8-13 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 643 healthy school going children aged 8-13 years. The study was conducted in one secondary school selected in the urban area of Puducherry between August and September 2017. After baseline data collection including height and weight, BMI was calculated using the Quetelet index. The PEFR was measured using a mini- Wright Peak flow meter. For the study, the highest of the three measurements were recorded. RESULTS The study included 643 healthy students, out of which 391 and 252 were boys and girls respectively. Out of 643 children, 590 were in the ideal weight range while 28 and 25 categorized as obese and overweight respectively. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among children in the age group of 8 to 13 years was 3.9% and 4.4% respectively. The present study showed that PEFR was significantly higher in the obese group (256.07±55.47 L/min), than overweight (252.00±51.24) and non-obese group (224.15±53.74, p<0.001). CONCLUSION The present study showed a significant difference in the PEFR rate between obese, overweight and normal groups where higher PEFR has been reported on obese than normal. Excess weight directly and positively affects the PEFR, while further investigations on the underlying mechanism is warranted.
