GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS FOR IDENTIFICATION AND MAPPING OF WASTELAND CHANGE IN SRI POTTI SRIRAMULU NELLORE DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH

A wide range of applications requires a detailed mapping of wasteland changes at a regional scale. Data on wastelands in the form of maps and statistics are needed for spatial planning and management. In the present study, the extent and changes in wastelands are evaluated during 2006-2016 in Sri Potti Sriramulu (SPS) Nellore district. Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) data pertaining to Kharif, Rabi and Zaid seasons have been used for interpretation of wastelands during 2005-06, 2008-09, and 2015-16. Twelve wasteland categories were identified and delineated using on-screen visual image interpretation techniques in GIS environment. The geographical extent of wastelands was spread over constitute about 2433 sq. km (18.42%) in 2005-06, 2304 sq. km (17.44%) in 2008-09, and 2045 sq. km (15.48%) in 2015-16. It is observed that there is a reduction in the extent of wastelands during 2006-16 by an area of about 388 sq. km (2.93%). There is a considerable change in the extents of open scrub, dense scrub and scrub forest area; whereas little changes are observed in sands, barren rocky and other wasteland categories. The decreased in the district's wasteland areas can be attributed to the implementation of various developmental initiatives. They include watershed development, industrial development and the influence of the industrial corridors in the district

Correlation between Body Mass Index (BMI) and Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR) among undergraduate students

Body mass index (BMI) is a common, inexpensive and simple method to categorize individuals as underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese I and obese II. However, this method does not reflect body shape and fat distribution. Waist to hip ratio (WHR) is a more recent and accurate method to measure body fat distribution and can be used routinely. The purpose of this study was to compare BMI and WHR of Malaysian undergraduate medical students. The weight, height, waist line and hip line of 82 undergraduate medical students studying at SEGi University, Malaysia were measured and used to calculate BMI and WHR using the standard formula. For males, the highest mean BMI was recorded for Indian students followed by those for Malay and Chinese. However, for males, the highest mean WHR was recorded for Malay followed by those for Chinese and Indian. For females, both mean BMI and WHR were highest for Malay, followed by those for Indian and Chinese. No correlation was found between BMI and WHR among the overall and male participants respectively. However significant correlation was present between BMI and WHR among female participants (r value = 0.623). In conclusion, in this research, there was correlation between BMI and WHR in female population. Therefore the Malaysian females, specially Malay females should be more aware of their health, their food intake and they should take better care of their health, do more physical activity in order to have healthier life and get less exposed to diseases caused by high BMI and WHR