PREVALENCE OF OBESITY AMONG MUSCULOSKELETAL PATIENTS

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to identify the prevalence of obesity among the musculoskeletal patients who attended musculoskeletal department of Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paraleysed (CRP) to receive physiotherapy service. The study was conducted in order to find the information related to demography, prevalence of obesity by age and sex, the main musculoskeletal disorder among the obese participants, as well as the distribution of chronic disease including hypertension and diabetes among the obese participants. Methodology: A cross sectional survey was conducted to collect data from 162 participants aged between 18-75 years. Results: Prevalence of obesity was 12.3%, with 55% were ? 50 years and 45% were < 50 years, 60% of whom were females and 40% were males. Out of 162, 20 patients were obese who complained at least one musculoskeletal problem. Among the 20 patients osteoarthritis of the knee (10, 50%) was the most common musculoskeletal disorder followed by low back pain (7, 35%), ankle sprain (1, 5%), neck pain (1, 5%) and calcaneal spur (1, 5%). Most of the obese shared that they had no hypertension (13, 65%) and diabetes (17, 85%) where rest of the patients suffered with hypertension (7, 35%) and diabetes (3, 15%). Conclusion: Prevalence of obesity is rapidly increasing day by day in the world. Now-a-days obesity is a burning question. It is essential to identify the prevalence of obesity among musculoskeletal patients of Bangladesh.