Obesity in India

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in India 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 the middle class and above income households. Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and NGOs such as the Indian Heart Association have been raising awareness about this issue.[2] While studying 22 different SNPs near to MC4-R gene, scientists have identified a 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.[3] 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 like Diabetes & Heart Disease, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare along with the Indian Council of Medical Research released updated guidelines (in 2012) that a BMI over 23 kg/m2 is considered overweight. Further definitions: Normal BMI: 18.0-22.9 kg/m2, Overweight: 23.0-24.9 kg/m2, Obesity: >25 kg/m2.

NFHS data

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 2007 National Family Health Survey.[4]

States Males (%) Males rank Females (%) Females rank
India 12.1 14 16 15
Punjab 30.3 1 37.5 1
Kerala 24.3 2 34 2
Goa 20.8 3 27 3
Tamil Nadu 19.8 4 24.4 4
Andhra Pradesh 17.6 5 22.7 10
Sikkim 17.3 6 21 8
Mizoram 16.9 7 20.3 17
Himachal Pradesh 16 8 19.5 12
Maharashtra 15.9 9 18.1 13
Gujarat 15.4 10 17.7 7
Haryana 14.4 11 17.6 6
Karnataka 14 12 17.3 9
Manipur 13.4 13 17.1 11
Uttarakhand 11.4 15 14.8 14
Arunachal Pradesh 10.6 16 12.5 19
Uttar Pradesh 9.9 17 12 18
Jammu and Kashmir 8.7 18 11.1 5
Bihar 8.5 19 10.5 29
Nagaland 8.4 20 10.2 22
Rajasthan 8.4 20 9 20
Meghalaya 8.2 22 8.9 26
Orissa 6.9 23 8.6 25
Assam 6.7 24 7.8 21
Chhattisgarh 6.5 25 7.6 27
West Bengal 6.1 26 7.1 16
Madhya Pradesh 5.4 27 6.7 23
Jharkhand 5.3 28 5.9 28
Tripura 5.2 29 5.3 24
Delhi 45.5 36 49.8 64

See also

References

  1. ↑ "India facing obesity epidemic: experts". The Hindu. 2007-10-12.
  2. ↑ Indian Heart Association Webpage 26 April 2015. <http://indianheartassociation.org/>
  3. ↑ Genetic basis for weight gain
  4. ↑ "National Family Health Survey, 2005-06". Mumbai: International Institute for Population Sciences. 2007.

Further reading

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