Fast food intake and its impact on body mass index among Advanced Level students in Batticaloa Town schools

Abstract

Background: Fast food has become a prominent feature of diet of the population globally, which are high in calorie, are prepared and served, quickly and easily. Increased body weight and obesity are the result of increased fast food intake and a main risk factor for many non-communicable diseases. Body Mass Index (BMI) is used to assess body weight, which is defined <18.5 as underweight, 18.5-22.9 as normal, 23-24.9 as overweight and >25 as obesity in Asian countries. Objectives: The objective of the study was to assess the amount of fast food intake and its impact on body mass index (BMI) among A/L students in Batticaloa town schools.Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 420 grade 12 A/L students and a selfadministered questionnaire was used to collect data. Fast food intake and its impact on body mass index was assessed. Results: Among 420 A/L school students in our study, 57.9% were consuming high amount while 15.5% were average, whereas 26.7% were low. Among them, most of them (36.9%) were consuming fast food at home/ with their family, 28.3% rom road side vendors. And 82.1% of students prefer fast food because it tastes better. In regard to BMI range, 41% were normal, 25.7% underweight, and 21.4% obese. In addition, the detected problems were weight gain (18.3%), peptic ulcers (9.5%). p value was 0.594. Conclusion: There is no relationship between fast food intake and BMI among A/L students in Batticaloa town schools.