Physical Activity, Sedentary Lifestyle, and Obesity Among Indian Dental Professionals

Background: Regular physical activity is well recognized as an important lifestyle behavior for the development and maintenance of individual and population health and well-being. This study was conducted to evaluate physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, and obesity among Indian dental health professionals. Methods: Global Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to assess physical activity among 324 dental health care professionals. Metabolic equivalents (MET) were used to express the intensity of physical activities. Obesity was recorded corresponding to Body Mass Index. Individuals were considered in high risk group to develop obesity if energy expenditure was < 600 MET min/week. Results: Total physical activity measured in mean MET minutes per week was 625.6, 786.3, 296.5, and 296.5 for third year, final year, interns, and faculty, respectively (P <= .05). Obesity was observed in 22.4% of third-year students, 16.3% of final-year students, 20.4% of interns, and 40.8% of faculty members (P <= .001). Conclusion: The sedentary lifestyle of dental health care professionals is a major threat to the present and future health of the professionals by which the entire community could be prone to an epidemic of chronic disease.