Obesity in India

Share of adults that are obese, 1975 to 2016

Obesity in India has reached epidemic proportions in the 21st century, with morbid obesity affecting 5% of the country's population.[1] India is following a trend of other developing countries that are steadily becoming more obese. Unhealthy, processed food has become much more accessible following India's continued integration in global food markets. This, combined with rising middle class incomes, is increasing the average caloric intake per individual among middle class and high income households.[2] Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and NGOs such as the Indian Heart Association have been raising awareness about this issue.[3]

While studying 22 different SNPs near to MC4-R gene, scientists have identified an SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) named rs12970134 to be mostly associated with waist circumference. In this study more than two thousand individuals of Indian origin participated and the aforementioned SNP is highly prevalent in this group.[4]

Internationally, a BMI over 25 kg/m2 is considered overweight. Due to genetic tendency of Indians towards abdominal obesity and its associated risk of related lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and anemia, guidelines for diagnosis of obesity and abdominal obesity for India have been published in JAPI (2009) that a BMI over 23 kg/m2 is considered overweight.[5] Further definitions: Normal BMI: 18.0-22.9 kg/m2, Overweight: 23.0-24.9 kg/m2, Obesity: >25 kg/m2.[5]

NFHS data

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This is a list of the states of India ranked in order of percentage of people who are overweight or obese, based on data from the 2016-2021National Family Health Survey.[6]

States Males (%) Males rank Females (%) Females rank
India 18.9 24 20.7 22
Delhi 24.6 11 33.5 5
Chandigarh 32.0 6 41.4 1
Dadra and Nagar Haveli 22.9 15 19.2 25
Daman and Diu 30.7 7 31.7 9
Andaman and Nicobar Islands 38.2 1 31.8 8
Lakshadweep 24.1 13 40.6 2
Puducherry 37.1 2 36.7 3
Punjab 27.8 10 31.3 10
Kerala 28.5 8 32.4 7
Goa 32.7 5 33.5 4
Tamil Nadu 28.2 9 30.9 11
Andhra Pradesh 33.5 4 33.2 6
Sikkim 34.8 3 26.7 15
Mizoram 20.9 18 21.1 20
Himachal Pradesh 22.0 17 28.7 13
Maharashtra 23.8 14 23.4 18
Gujarat 19.7 23 23.8 17
Haryana 20.0 21 21.0 21
Karnataka 22.1 16 23.3 17
Manipur 19.8 22 26.0 16
Uttarakhand 17.7 25 20.5 23
Arunachal Pradesh 20.6 19 18.8 26
Uttar Pradesh 12.5 33 16.5 27
Jammu and Kashmir 20.5 20 29.1 12
Bihar 12.6 32 11.7 36
Nagaland 13.9 29 16.2 29
Rajasthan 13.2 30 14.1 31
Meghalaya 10.0 37 12.2 34
Odisha 17.3 26 16.5 28
Assam 12.9 31 13.2 33
Chhattisgarh 10.2 36 11.9 35
West Bengal 14.2 28 19.9 24
Madhya Pradesh 10.9 35 13.6 32
Jharkhand 11.1 34 10.3 37
Telangana 24.2 12 28.7 13
Tripura 15.9 27 16.0 30

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "India facing obesity epidemic: experts". The Hindu. 2007-10-12.
  2. ^ Gulati, S; Misra, A (2017). "Abdominal obesity and type 2 diabetes in Asian Indians: Dietary strategies including edible oils, cooking practices and sugar intake". European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 71 (7): 850–857. doi:10.1038/ejcn.2017.92. PMID 28612831. S2CID 23766777.
  3. ^ Indian Heart Association Webpage 26 April 2015. <http://indianheartassociation.org/>
  4. ^ Chambers, John C; Elliott, Paul; Zabaneh, Delilah; Zhang, Weihua; Li, Yun; Froguel, Philippe; Balding, David; Scott, James; Kooner, Jaspal S (2008). "Common genetic variation near MC4R is associated with waist circumference and insulin resistance". Nature Genetics. 40 (6): 716–8. doi:10.1038/ng.156. PMID 18454146. S2CID 12331736.
  5. ^ a b Misra, A; Chowbey, P; Makkar, B. M; Vikram, N. K; Wasir, J. S; Chadha, D; Joshi, S. R; Sadikot, S; Gupta, R; Gulati, S; Munjal, Y. P (2009). "Consensus statement for diagnosis of obesity, abdominal obesity and the metabolic syndrome for Asian Indians and recommendations for physical activity, medical and surgical management". The Journal of the Association of Physicians of India. 57: 163–70. PMID 19582986.
  6. ^ "National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015-2016" (PDF). Mumbai: International Institute for Population Sciences. 2017. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

Further reading

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