TY - JOUR AU - Joy, Teena M. AU - Paul, Nimitha AU - P. S., Rakesh AU - Leelamoni, K. PY - 2017/03/28 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - High prevalence of dietary and physical activity related risk factors for non-communicable diseases among apparently healthy urban women in Kochi, Kerala, South India JF - International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health JA - Int J Community Med Public Health VL - 4 IS - 4 SE - Original Research Articles DO - 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20171311 UR - https://www.ijcmph.com/index.php/ijcmph/article/view/1240 SP - 987-991 AB - <p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Non communicable diseases (NCDs) represent the biggest threat to women’s health worldwide. NCD is a leading cause of morbidity and premature mortality among women in Kerala. <span lang="EN-IN">This study attempts to delineate the risk factors of NCDs among apparently healthy urban women in Kochi, Kerala. </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">A cross sectional study was conducted among apparently healthy women of age 20-60 years in randomly selected wards of Eloor municipality, Kochi, Kerala. The minimum calculated sample size was 130. Houses were selected by systematic random sampling. A semi structured questionnaire based on the STEPS instrument was administered to eligible subjects. Their anthropometric measurements were also taken using standardised tools. Data were entered into Excel sheet and analysed using SPSS version 15. </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> <span lang="EN-GB">The mean age of the women surveyed was 38.9 years (SD 10.2). Majority (71%) of the study participants were home makers. Majority (97.2%) consumed less than 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Of them, 79.3% were in the low physical activity category.  Around 55% of the women were either overweight or obese</span><span lang="EN-IN">. </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> The current study showed a high burden of risk factors for non-communicable diseases among women in urban area in Kerala. Considering the burden of NCD risk factors in the population, there is urgent need to plan and implement gender sensitive community-based interventions at different levels including health promotion, and prevention<span lang="EN-IN">. </span></p> ER -