Saturday, January 4, 2025
Food

Unhealthy Eating and Sedentary Lifestyles Contributing to Rising Obesity in India

21views

According to Soumya Swaminathan, a former Chief Scientist at the WHO, unhealthy diets and lack of physical activity are major contributors to the growing issue of abdominal obesity in India. Swaminathan, who is currently serving as the Principal Advisor for the Health Ministry’s tuberculosis program, emphasized the need for better access to nutritious foods and exercise facilities as part of the effort to combat obesity—a pressing global health challenge.

Obesity is a significant risk factor for various non-communicable diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, and cancer, which have seen a marked increase in India and around the world. Swaminathan highlighted the concerning trends in a recent post, stating that “abdominal obesity—driven by unhealthy diets and physical inactivity—is on the rise.” She pointed to a study published in The Lancet Regional Health, which examines abdominal obesity and was conducted by researchers from IIHMR University in Jaipur and Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The findings revealed that abdominal obesity is notably more common in women (40%) compared to men (12%), with about 50-60% of women aged 30 to 49 categorized as abdominally obese. This issue appears to be particularly pronounced among older women and those who do not follow a vegetarian diet. While urban areas have higher rates of abdominal obesity, the study indicates that it is also increasing in rural regions and among lower and middle socioeconomic groups.

Traditionally, Body Mass Index (BMI) has been the standard measure of obesity in India. However, the recent National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) for the first time assessed abdominal obesity using waist circumference measurements from over 650,000 women and nearly 86,000 men aged 15 to 49. This research highlighted that some women with a normal BMI still experience abdominal obesity. Regions like Kerala (65.4%), Tamil Nadu (57.9%), Punjab (62.5%), and Delhi (59%) showed particularly high rates of this condition, while Jharkhand (23.9%) and Madhya Pradesh (24.9%) reported lower prevalence.

The study not only points to an “emerging health risk for Indian women” but also reveals a “double burden of malnutrition” within the country. Researchers are calling for the government to implement targeted interventions aimed at populations, especially women in their thirties and forties, who are experiencing high rates of abdominal obesity.