A study of the profile of behavioral risk factors of non communicable diseases in an urban setting using the WHO steps 1 approach

India is in the grip of an epidemic posed by non communicable diseases and a rising trend is even being witnessed in low socio-economic urban areas. A total of 531 adults residing in an urban settlement area participated and were interviewed with regard to the presence of behavioral risk factors using the World Health Organization (WHO) STEPS 1 questionnaire on various parameters. Smoking prevalence was found to be 18.4%, out of which more than three-fourths of the adults smoked more than one packet of cigarettes per day. Almost one-third of known hypertensive patients were not on any treatment regimen. A total of 40.3% did not participate in any kind of physical activity; 43% consumed only one serving of green vegetables a day while 58% of the patients included fruits as a part of their diet only once or twice a week. There is a need to develop strong community-based intervention programs that adopt comprehensive preventive and promotive strategies.