Ishita Roy

Former WHO Chief Scientist Warns India On Rising Abdominal Obesity

Rising obesity in India

In a tweet by the former WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan, India was warned against the rising abdominal obesity.

Swaminathan, who is the Principal Advisor for the Health Ministry's tuberculosis programme called for expanding access to healthier diets and spaces for exercise in the country to fight against obesity. 

According to the Lancet report, 70% of India's urban population is classified as obese or overweight, which places the country amid an obesity crisis. India ranks third, just behind the US and China in the list of top 10 countries with the highest number of obese people.

Obesity is also a precursor to diabetes, hypertension, and cancer, which are among the leading non-communicable diseases on the rise.

“Abdominal obesity - unhealthy diets and physical inactivity are driving this unhealthy trend,” Swaminathan said in a post on X, previously Twitter. “More awareness, nutrition literacy, expanded access to healthier diets, spaces for exercise needed,” she added, citing a recent study on abdominal obesity, published in the journal The Lancet Regional Health.

The study is led by researchers from IIHMR University, Jaipur and Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US. The study analysed data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), which was conducted in 2019-21.

The report showed that abdominal obesity is more prevalent among women (40%) than men (20%). About 5 to 6 of the 10 women between the ages of 30 and 49 are abdominally obese. 

The number is higher in elderly women and those who are non-vegetarians. It is also prevalent among people living in urban spaces, however, the study also highlighted an increasing rate even in the rural spaces.

In India, BMI measured obesity, however, for the first time, the NFHS-5 assessed abdominal obesity through BRI, through the waist circumference of 6,59,156 women and 85,976 men, aged between 15 and 49 years. 

The study also showed that Kerala (65.4%), Tamil Nadu (57.9%), Punjab (62.5%), and Delhi (59%) had a high prevalence of abdominal obesity, whereas Jharkhand (23.9%) and Madhya Pradesh (24.9%) had lower prevalence. 

The study also highlighted "a double burden of malnutrition" in the country. The researchers urged the government to take proactive steps "to design targeted interventions for the groups who have high abdominal obesity, particularly for the women in their thirties and forties”.

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In a tweet by the former WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan, India was warned against the rising abdominal obesity. Swaminathan, who is the Principal Advisor for the Health Ministry's tuberculosis programme called for expanding access to healthier diets and spaces for exercise in the country to fight against obesity. According to the Lancet report, 70% of India's urban population is classified as obese or overweight, which places the country amid an obesity crisis. India ranks third, just behind the US and China in the list of top 10 countries with the highest number of obese people. Obesity is also a precursor to diabetes, hypertension, and cancer, which are among the leading non-communicable diseases on the rise.Abdominal obesity - unhealthy diets & physical inactivity are driving this unhealthy trend. More awareness, nutrition literacy, expanded access to healthier diets, spaces for exercise needed. https://t.co/iLGldaISHq @MoHFW_INDIA @ICMRDELHI @NCDCgov @SmartCities_HUA @NITIAayog&mdash; Soumya Swaminathan (@doctorsoumya) October 26, 2024 ]]> “Abdominal obesity - unhealthy diets and physical inactivity are driving this unhealthy trend,” Swaminathan said in a post on X, previously Twitter. “More awareness, nutrition literacy, expanded access to healthier diets, spaces for exercise needed,” she added, citing a recent study on abdominal obesity, published in the journal The Lancet Regional Health.What Is The Study?The study is led by researchers from IIHMR University, Jaipur and Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US. The study analysed data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), which was conducted in 2019-21.What Did The Report Say?The report showed that abdominal obesity is more prevalent among women (40%) than men (20%). About 5 to 6 of the 10 women between the ages of 30 and 49 are abdominally obese. The number is higher in elderly women and those who are non-vegetarians. It is also prevalent among people living in urban spaces, however, the study also highlighted an increasing rate even in the rural spaces.In India, BMI measured obesity, however, for the first time, the NFHS-5 assessed abdominal obesity through BRI, through the waist circumference of 6,59,156 women and 85,976 men, aged between 15 and 49 years. The study also showed that Kerala (65.4%), Tamil Nadu (57.9%), Punjab (62.5%), and Delhi (59%) had a high prevalence of abdominal obesity, whereas Jharkhand (23.9%) and Madhya Pradesh (24.9%) had lower prevalence. The study also highlighted "a double burden of malnutrition" in the country. The researchers urged the government to take proactive steps "to design targeted interventions for the groups who have high abdominal obesity, particularly for the women in their thirties and forties”.