Comparison of pulmonary function test and body mass index in medical and paramedical students
Authors: Lahoty Namrata , Rinku Garg 
Published: January 2023

Context:

Obesity has become a serious public health issue in emerging nations, notably in India. Obesity alters the mechanics of the respiratory system, as well as exercise tolerance, gas exchanges, respiratory pattern modulation, and respiratory muscle strength and endurance, among other things.

Aims:

The aim was to compare the pulmonary function test parameters in normal weight, overweight, and obese young people among the medical students.

Settings and Design:

Obesity and overweight have become a global problem. They are the key health issues in both industrialized and developing nations today. As a result of obesity, which was defined as an excess of fat tissue in the body, a several systemic illnesses and a higher mortality rate might occur. Many bodily systems may be affected by obesity, resulting in higher rates of illness and death in the community.

Subjects and Methods:

The present study was carried out at Santosh Medical College in the Department of Physiology and was a cross-sectional study. Based on the body mass index (BMI), three student groups were taken as normal, overweight, and obese, which was followed by pulmonary tests conducted using spirometry, and the observations were noted and were compared among the three groups.

Statistical Analysis Used:

In this study, descriptive and inferential statistical analyses was performed. Continuous measurement data was shown as mean ± standard deviation (SD), whereas categorical measurement results was presented as a number (%). The significance is determined at a 5% level of significance. Assumptions: (1) Independent variables should have a normal distribution, (2) Samples selected from the population should be random, and sample cases should be independent.

Conclusions:

This type of study is completely novel to this geographic location as a comparison is made between two different strata (medical and paramedical students) of both genders, and it aimed to determine whether there is a difference in pulmonary function between obese, overweight, and normal weight people, especially in this section of the country. As a result, the current study in both the groups found that: (1) Forced vital capacity in overweight people was much lower than in people of normal weight and much lower in obese compared to overweight, (2) Forced expiratory volume in the 1 s in overweight people was much lower than in people of normal weight and much lower in obese compared to overweight, (3) Forced expiratory flow 25–75 in overweight people was much lower than in people of normal weight and much lower in obese compared to overweight, (4) Peak expiratory flow rate in overweight people was much lower than in people of normal weight and much lower in obese compared to overweight. As a result, all of the indices of the lung function evaluated in this study indicated a statistically significant inverse relationship with a rise in BMI. This suggests that a rise in the body mass index changes lung functioning, potentially leading to long-term consequences and being linked to early mortality and morbidity.