Introduction: Adolescence is the period during which a child’s body transforms into that of an adult. Among other things, an adolescent has increased energy needs. Eating too much food, particularly unhealthy food puts children at risk of overweight and obesity. An overweight or obese child is at an increased risk of type-2 diabetes, sleep apnoea and hip and joint problems. Long-term effects include an increased risk of heart diseases and some cancers. Aim and Objectives: To study the faulty food habits and their association with overweight and obesity among rural school going adolescents. Material and Methods: The present study was conducted in Lakhanmajra block of Rohtak district over a period of one year from July 2016 to June 2017. 750 students from six co-educational government senior secondary schools were included in the study. Data were collected using pre-designed, pre-tested, semi structured interview schedule. Collected data were analysed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: Prevalence of overweight and obesity was 6.7% and 1.1% respectively. All the study subjects consumed fruits. 29.2% of the study subjects who used to eat fruits only once/twice a month were obese/ overweight. Obesity/overweight was more prevalent among study subjects who were in the habit of eating deep fried foods (14.8%), snacks (18.4%), bakery foods (24.4%), fast foods (18%) and those who consumed carbonated drinks (15.1%) in comparison to those who did not have these habits. Conclusion: In India, the problem of overweight and obesity are increasing among adolescents. If we allow this to continue, our country will top the world in Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) much earlier than projected. Only community based intervention approaches can address this problem. Since the lifestyle habits are amenable to change, the future epidemic of NCDs can be prevented by incorporating healthy lifestyle among children and adolescents especially regarding consumption of healthy foods.
