Obesity (BMI>30), a medical condition, results from excess deposition of fat in the body. It has manifold negative impacts on health and has been found to be mainly associated with cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and diabetes. In developing nations, the main causes of obesity are sedentary lifestyle, physical inactivity and consumption of high calorie food, although genetics also plays a part in it. The aim of our pilot study was to estimate the tendency of getting overweight and obese in the age range of 20-24 years in an urban area of West Bengal. For this, we studied randomly 100 individuals and their height, weight, waist hip ratio, food habit and lifestyles were noted. Interestingly, obesity was not observed in our study population which was contradictory to some previous studies. So we hypothesize that age related stress and associated cortisol may be another factor for weight gain in the future.

Keywords: Obesity; Medical condition; Life style; Urban area.