By Kundan Pandey:
Note: This article has been republished from Down To Earth.
[envoke_twitter_link]Even as India battles malnutrition, the country has developed another nutritional problem—obesity[/envoke_twitter_link]. In past 10 years, the number of obese people has doubled in the country, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4).
As per the survey conducted by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) released on Tuesday, people having a Body Mass Index (BMI) more than 25 kilograms per metre square have been considered as obese.
Most of the states have experienced a sharp rise in the number of obese people. Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar, Puducherry and Sikkim have more than 30 per cent of their populations falling under the ‘obese’ category. More than 10 per cent population in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura and West Bengal is obese; double since the last National Family Health Survey of 2005-06.
Experts believe that obesity is the major reason for developing different types of diabetes mellitus. Several researchers have highlighted that obesity accounts for 80-85% of the risk of developing type-2 diabetes.
Percentage of obesity in various states as recorded in NFHS-4 and NFHS-3
| State | of Men (15-49 years) who are overweight or obese- NFHS-4 | Men who are overweight or obese- NFHS-3 | Women who are overweight or obese- NFHS-4 | Women who are overweight or obese- NFHS-3 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 33.5 | 33.2 | ||
| Andaman and Nicobar | 38.2 | 31.8 | ||
| Bihar | 12.6 | 6.3 | 11.7 | 4.6 |
| Goa | 32.6 | 15.5 | 33.5 | 20.2 |
| Haryana | 20.0 | 10.8 | 21.0 | 17.4 |
| Karnataka | 22.1 | 10.9 | 23.3 | 15.3 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 10.9 | 4.3 | 13.6 | 7.6 |
| Meghalaya | 10.1 | 5.9 | 12.2 | 5.3 |
| Puducherry | 37.1 | 36.7 | ||
| Sikkim | 34.8 | 11.9 | 26.7 | 15.4 |
| Tamil Nadu | 28.2 | 14.5 | 30.9 | 20.9 |
| Telangana | 24.2 | 28.1 | ||
| Tripura | 15.9 | 4.8 | 16.0 | 7.1 |
| Uttarakhand | 17.7 | 7.9 | 20.4 | 12.8 |
| West Bengal | 14.2 | 5.5 | 19.9 | 11.4 |
Urban-Rural Divide
The survey highlights that urban population is more prone to obesity as compared to their rural counterparts. In Andhra Pradesh, 44.4% urban men suffered from obesity, while the percentage in rural parts was 28 per cent. Similarly, 45.6% of the urban women in the state were obese against the 27.6 per cent women in rural Andhra Pradesh. In Bihar, around 20% urban and 11% rural men were obese.
Additionally, three in ten women are overweight in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu.
Percentage of obesity in rural and urban areas in various states
| Urban | Rural | |||||
| State | Men | Women | Men | Women | ||
| Andhra Pradesh | 44.4 | 45.6 | 28.0 | 27.6 | ||
| Andaman and Nicobar | 38 | 38.3 | 38.3 | 26.6 | ||
| Bihar | 20.1 | 23.5 | 10.9 | 9.7 | ||
| Goa | 35.3 | 36.3 | 28.2 | 28.5 | ||
| Haryana | 21.0 | 24.3 | 19.3 | 18.8 | ||
| Karnataka | 28.6 | 31.8 | 17.1 | 16.6 | ||
| Madhya Pradesh | 17.6 | 23.8 | 7.8 | 9.1 | ||
| Meghalaya | 17.1 | 18.4 | 8.1 | 10.2 | ||
| Puducherry | 40.5 | 38.1 | 30.8 | 33.6 | ||
| Sikkim | 41.5 | 34.1 | 29.7 | 23.1 | ||
| Tamil Nadu | 30.6 | 36.2 | 25.6 | 25.4 | ||
| Telangana | 31.9 | 39.5 | 17.9 | 18.5 | ||
| Tripura | 18.2 | 23.5 | 14.9 | 12.8 | ||
| Uttarakhand | 23.0 | 28.4 | 14.1 | 16.0 | ||
| West Bengal | 20.7 | 30.6 | 11.2 | 15.0 | ||
The report also highlights that anaemia has declined in the country. However, it still remains widespread as more than half the women in eleven States/Union Territories are anaemic.
NFHS-4 is fourth in a series of national surveys. Previously, National Family Health Surveys have been carried out in 1992-93 (NFHS-1), 1998-99 (NFHS-2) and 2005-06 (NFHS-3). NFHS-4 is the first of these to collect data from each of India’s 29 States and all seven Union Territories.