‘Rising obesity a concern, preventive steps must be taken for healthy lifestyle’

New Delhi: Raising concerns over growing obesity, the Economic Survey said 54 per cent of the total disease burden in India is due to unhealthy diets. “Obesity is emerging as a serious concern among India’s adult population,” said the survey tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Monday.

If India needs to “reap the gains of its demographic dividend, it is critical that its population’s health parameters transition towards a balanced and diverse diet”, it said.

Citing a report from the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), the Economic Survey observed that the rise in consumption of highly processed foods laden with sugars and fat, coupled with reduced physical activity and limited access to diverse foods, exacerbate micronutrient deficiencies and overweight/obesity problems.

Estimates show that the adult obesity rate in India has more than tripled, and the rise in children is steepest in world for India, behind Vietnam and Namibia, the survey stated, referring to a World Obesity Federation report. It further said as per National Family Health Survey (NFHS), the incidence of obesity is significantly higher in urban than in rural India. In urban India, it is 29.8 per cent in men versus 19.3 per cent of rural India.

The percentage of men facing obesity in the 18-69 age bracket has increased to 22.9 per cent in NFHS-5 from 18.9 per cent in NFHS-4. For women, it has increased from 20.6 per cent (NFHS-4) to 24 per cent (NFHS-5).

“Combined with an ageing population in some states, obesity presents a concerning situation. Preventive measures must be taken to enable citizens to have a healthier lifestyle,” the survey said.