Abstract

Background- Obesity is a growing problem even in developing regions like India. Obese people are also at risk for social discrimination and possibly adverse psychological consequences. Objective: to study dynamic lung functions and flow rates Forced Expiratory Volume (FEV), Forced Ventilatory Capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC ratio on subjects and controls. Methods- The study was conducted in the Department of Physiology, SDM College of medical sciences and hospital, Dharwad. 150 male students in the age group 15-24 years of the college formed the subjects of the study. Results- The mean (±SD) body mass index in overweight group was 23.94 ± 0.55kg/m2, in obese group was 26.81 ± 1.45kg/m2 and in controls was 21.04 1.26 kg/m2. The mean (±SD) age in overweight group was 20.44 ± 1.83 years, in obese group was 20.60 ± 1.78 years and in controls was 19.90 ± 1.31years. The mean (± SD) forced vital capacity at rest in overweight group was 3.54 ± 0.37 litres, in obese group was 3.53 ± 0.76 litres and in controls was 3.82 ± 0.46 litres. The mean (± SD) FEV1 at rest in overweight group was 3.11 ± 0.40 litres, in obese group was 3.10 ± 0.73 litres and in controls was 3.43 ± 0.5 litres. The mean (± SD) FEV1/ FVC at rest in overweight group was 0.87 ± 0.37 %, in obese group was 0.87 ± 0.03% and in controls was 0.89 ± 0.06%. Conclusion- FEV1 and FVC were significantly lower in overweight and obese groups compared to controls. FEV1 was reduced more significantly than FVC. But there is no significant change in FEV1/FVC ratio in overweight and obese groups.

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