While India grapples with a steep rise in two major lifestyle diseases – type 2 diabetes and hypertension – rising cases of obesity have raised concerns in the country. The rise in obesity comes at a time when millions of Indians are shifting from a traditional home-cooked diet to fatty, cheese and oily processed foods and sugar-rich beverages. Obesity is a major health care concern, even in middle-income and low-income countries, because of its association with chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and some cancers.
According to a recent study published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has doubled in India during the last two decades, leading to a significant increase in the burden of non-communicable diseases.
Although India has made tremendous progress in providing primary and preventive health care to its citizens, it has not recognized obesity as a major health care concern that must be acted upon, as stated in “Obesity: Another argues the study titled “Ongoing Pandemic”.
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Obesity was also seen as a modifiable risk factor of COVID-19 and the study emphasized that the goal of public health bodies should be to achieve a healthy weight at the population level, which reduces the adverse consequences of non-communicable and infectious diseases. Can reduce
According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data for 2016-2021, about 20 percent of the Indian population is obese, including 5 percent of the morbidly obese (severely obese) population. A sharp increase in childhood obesity was also found.
According to estimates, there are 135 million obese people in India. Health experts attribute the change in eating habits as one of the major factors for the obesity epidemic in India. The diet of youth in India has become more westernized and more dependent on processed and fast food.
Experts say that these foods often contain high levels of calories, sugar and fat that can lead to weight gain and obesity. Managing Director of Amor Hospital, Hyderabad, Dr. Kishore B. According to Reddy, the modernization and urbanization of our society has brought about some unwanted changes in our lives.
“We see today that more and more people eat energy-dense and fat-rich foods; but there is a significant decrease in physical activity. This is causing people to gain weight, which has significant financial implications. Obese individuals and families spend more not only on their health care, but also on some simple necessities like transportation,” Dr. Reddy said.
The increased consumption of added sugars, found in many highly processed foods, has been linked to overweight and obesity, which affects nearly 40 percent of the global population and millions of children.
“It is important to recognize the complex relationship between sugar consumption and the development of diabetes. Sugar, once considered a simple pleasure, can disrupt our body’s delicate balance of glucose regulation, predisposing individuals to this chronic condition.” can motivate,” Dr Manoj Vithalani, senior consultant physician and diabetologist at HCG Hospital, Ahmedabad, told IANS.
In March this year, on the occasion of World Obesity Day, an alarming global report warned that obesity among boys and girls in India is expected to increase by 9.1 per cent annually by 2035 if prevention, treatment and support are not improved. Is.
The report published by the World Obesity Federation revealed that in 2020, the risk of obesity in boys was 3 percent, but by 2035, the risk would increase to 12 percent and for girls the risk was 2 percent in 2020, but would increase to 7 percent in 2035. Will be done.