{"id":357596,"date":"2026-03-09T19:16:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T13:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=357596"},"modified":"2026-03-09T19:19:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T13:49:15","slug":"obesity-in-india-explained-pointwise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/obesity-in-india-explained-pointwise\/","title":{"rendered":"Obesity in India &#8211; Explained Pointwise"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The World Obesity Atlas, released last week, estimates that more than 40mn children in India are either overweight or obese. Hence, India now ranks second globally in the number of overweight &amp; obese children. This trend is driven by sedentary lifestyles, urbanisation, and greater access to processed foods. Also, unlike the developed countries where the dietary transition unfolded gradually over several decades, in India much of this shift has occurred in last 15 years.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_285760\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-285760\" style=\"width: 750px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-285760 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/3-Coloum-Paragraph-Mind-Map-300-x-297-mm-3.png?resize=750%2C743&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Obesity In India\" width=\"750\" height=\"743\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/3-Coloum-Paragraph-Mind-Map-300-x-297-mm-3.png?resize=1024%2C1014&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/3-Coloum-Paragraph-Mind-Map-300-x-297-mm-3.png?resize=300%2C297&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/3-Coloum-Paragraph-Mind-Map-300-x-297-mm-3.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/3-Coloum-Paragraph-Mind-Map-300-x-297-mm-3.png?resize=768%2C760&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/3-Coloum-Paragraph-Mind-Map-300-x-297-mm-3.png?resize=1536%2C1521&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/3-Coloum-Paragraph-Mind-Map-300-x-297-mm-3.png?resize=1568%2C1552&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/3-Coloum-Paragraph-Mind-Map-300-x-297-mm-3.png?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-285760\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Created By Forum IAS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<table style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%; text-align: center;\"><strong>Table of Contents<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%;\"><a href=\"#toc1\">What is obesity?<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#toc2\">What are the reasons behind the increasing obesity in India?<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#toc3\">What are the negative impacts of Obesity in India?<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#toc4\">What are the government initiatives to reduce the obesity burden?<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#toc5\">What should be the way forward?<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a id=\"toc1\"><\/a>What is obesity?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), obesity is defined as an <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">abnormal<\/span> or <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">excessive accumulation of fat<\/span> that poses health risks.<\/li>\n<li>It is a medical condition that increases the risk of other health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and certain cancers.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"citation-27\">The most common screening tool for obesity is the <\/span><b data-path-to-node=\"2\" data-index-in-node=\"50\"><span class=\"citation-27\">Body Mass Index (BMI)<\/span><\/b><span class=\"citation-27 citation-end-27\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\">How is obesity measured?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<table style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; background-color: #f1f5a9;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 23.2484%;\"><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong>Adults over the age of 20 years<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.7516%;\">\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong>Obese: <\/strong>Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 kg\/m2 or more.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong>Underweight:<\/strong>\u00a0Body Mass Index (BMI) is less than 18 kg\/m2.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 23.2484%;\"><strong>School-aged children and adolescents between 5 and 19 years<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.7516%;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Obese-<\/strong> BMI is two standard deviations more than the mean.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Underweight-<\/strong> BMI is two standard deviations below the mean.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>NOTE:<\/strong>\u00a0BMI is a person\u2019s weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Data regarding obesity in India:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>More obese women as compared to men-<\/strong> Obesity in women has increased from <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">1.2%<\/span> in 1990 to <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">9.8%<\/span> in 2022. There are <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">44 million women<\/span> living with obesity in 2022.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Increase in Men Obesity-<\/strong> Obesity in men has increased by <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">4.9%<\/span> from 1990 to 2022. There are <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">26 million men<\/span> living with obesity in 2022.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Significant Increase In Childhood Obesity-<\/strong> The number of obese boys has increased from <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">0.2 million in 1990<\/span> to <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">7.3 million in 2022<\/span>. The number of obese girls has increased from <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">0.2 million in 1990<\/span> to <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">5.2 million in 2022<\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #333333; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\">Data regarding underweight in India:<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Underweight Men and Women-<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">13.7% of women<\/span> and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">12.5% of men<\/span> were underweight.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Underweight Children-<\/strong> India has the highest number of underweight girls in the world. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">20.3% of Indian girls are underweight<\/span>. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">21.7% of Indian boys are underweight<\/span>, which is the second highest in the world.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<table style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%;\">Read More- <a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/lancet-study-on-global-obesity-rates\/#gsc.tab=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lancet study on Global Obesity rates<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a id=\"toc2\"><\/a>What are the reasons behind the increasing obesity in India?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Unhealthy Lifestyle- <\/strong>Lack of healthy lifestyle is a major reason for increasing obesity rates in India. <strong>For ex-<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Lack of physical activities such as walks or gyms<span style=\"color: #333333;\">, lack of proper sleep. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Lack of proper diet-<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Cheaper and easily available junk food<\/span> has replaced the nutritious food in the dietary intakes of Indian population. <strong>For ex- <\/strong>According to recent <a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/all-india-household-consumption-expenditure-survey-2022-23-explained-pointwise\/#gsc.tab=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Household Consumption Survey<\/a>, Indians are spending less on cereals and pulses and more on beverages, refreshments and processed food.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Increased income and urbanization-<\/strong> Increased income levels have led to a rise in the consumption of foods high in <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">fats<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">sugar<\/span> and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">low physical activity<\/span>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lack of awareness-<\/strong> There has been a general lack of awareness about <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">healthy eating habits<\/span> and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">the guidelines issued by FSSAI<\/span>. Since Health is a state subject, there have been <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">implementation challenges<\/span> in ensuring <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">proper implementation of FSSAI guidelines<\/span>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Growth of Ultra-processed food industry-<\/strong> Ultra processed food industry has boomed in India, leading to increased intake of transfat in India. According to a <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">joint study<\/span> conducted by <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">WHO<\/span> and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">ICRIER<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">India\u2019s ultra-processed food industry<\/span> has grown at a<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> CAGR of 13.37%<\/span> in terms of retail sales value between 2011 and 2021.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Obesity no longer dependent on economic capacity-<\/strong> Obesity is <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">no longer the disease of the rich in India<\/span>. Eating junk food is cheaper and easier. <strong>For ex-<\/strong> The cost of samosas and pakoras available at roadside shacks is less than fruit and vegetables.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Generational burden<\/strong>: According to a UNICEF Survey, the nutritional deficits among children are often a carryover of the poor dietary habits of their mothers.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a id=\"toc3\"><\/a>What are the negative impacts of Obesity in India?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong>Individual Health Implications-<\/strong><\/span> Overweight adults and children are at greater risk for non-communicable diseases. According to WHO, excess bodyweight during childhood significantly increases the risk of conditions such as type 2 diabetes &amp; cardiovascular diseases later in life.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Improper development of Children in formative years-<\/strong> Obesity in children results in <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">stunted physical<\/span> and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">cognitive development<\/span>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Psychosocial Impact- <\/strong>Obese Individuals face psychosocial challenges like, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">body image<\/span> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">issues<\/span> and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">mental health concerns<\/span> due to societal stigmas associated with weight.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Economic Burden-<\/strong> Obesity increases the economic burden due to <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">productivity losses<\/span> on account of <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">decreased work efficiency<\/span> and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">absenteeism<\/span>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Public Health Challenges-<\/strong> Obesity is a major reason behind the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">growth of Non-Communicable Diseases<\/span> (<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">NCDs<\/span>), like <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">diabetes<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">cancer<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">hypertension<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">cardiovascular diseases<\/span> etc. This has increased strain on the fragile public healthcare system in India.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Social Inequality and Disparities-<\/strong> Obesity <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">perpetuates a cycle of health challenges<\/span> and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">economic disadvantages<\/span> among the vulnerable sections, exacerbates existing socio-economic disparities. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Women are disproportionately affected by obesity<\/span>, facing challenges related to reproductive health, maternal health, and overall well-being.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\"><a id=\"toc4\"><\/a>What are the government initiatives to reduce the obesity burden?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The government has launched multiple initiatives which focusses on reducing obesity, and associated NCDs.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Stroke (NPCDCS)-<\/strong> It is being implemented under the National Health Mission. It <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">aims to screen<\/span> and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">ensure early interventions<\/span> to <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">check the obesity-related risk factors<\/span> from becoming complicated.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ayushman Bharat Health Wellness Centre scheme-<\/strong> Preventive aspect of hypertension and NCDs is being strengthened under Comprehensive Primary Health Care by <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">promotion of wellness activities<\/span> and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">targeted communication at the community level<\/span>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Eat Right Movement-<\/strong> The Eat Right India movement is an initiative of the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Government of India<\/span> and the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Food Safety and Standards Authority of India<\/span> (FSSAI) to transform the country&#8217;s food system in order to ensure safe, healthy and sustainable food for all Indians.<\/li>\n<li><strong>FSSAI limits for transfats-<\/strong> FSSAI has issued <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">guidelines limiting trans fatty acids in oils and fats to be not more than 2% by weight<\/span>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020-<\/strong> It mandates that labels should mention <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">food allergens<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">nutritional information including fat<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">trans fat<\/span>, salt, sugar, added sugar etc.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a id=\"toc5\"><\/a>What should be the way forward?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong>Awareness about the grave dangers of obesity-<\/strong> The medical community must create awareness about the<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> NPCDCS guidelines<\/span>, which recommend <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">annual screening for excess weight in children as young as two to six years old<\/span>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Improving the access to nutrient rich food-<\/strong> The access of vulnerable sections to healthy nutrition must be enhanced by measures such as <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">targeted cash transfers<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">vouchers for healthy foods<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">free healthy school meals<\/span>, and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">primary care-based nutritional interventions<\/span>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Initiatives to reduce obesity among adults-<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Yoga days can be fixed in a week in offices<\/span>, welfare societies. Also, under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">cleaning of parks and other spaces can be promoted<\/span>, so that adults can come for exercise.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Initiatives to reduce obesity among Children-<\/strong> Strict implementation of RTE act norms, by <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">implementing mandatory minimum grounds size and other sports infrastructure<\/span> in schools. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Construction of parks and open spaces in colonies<\/span>, so that children can play outside rather than remaining busy with indoor activity like video games, computer games.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Disincentivising the ultra-processed food industry-<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Higher taxes<\/span> on unhealthy processed and junk food, and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">front-of-pack nutrition labelling<\/span> to guide consumers must be implemented.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<table style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%;\">Read More: <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/opinion\/editorials\/for-india-obesity-complicates-the-nutrition-challenge-10571992\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Indian Express<\/a><br \/>\nUPSC Syllabus- GS 2- Government interventions for Health<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The World Obesity Atlas, released last week, estimates that more than 40mn children in India are either overweight or obese. Hence, India now ranks second globally in the number of overweight &amp; obese children. This trend is driven by sedentary lifestyles, urbanisation, and greater access to processed foods. Also, unlike the developed countries where the&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/obesity-in-india-explained-pointwise\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Obesity in India &#8211; Explained Pointwise<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10391,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-357596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-pm","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10391"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357596\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}