Indians Are Getting Fatter - And It's a Big Problem

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- BBC News, May 24, 2022. - Ed.

Indians are getting fatter, according to a new government survey, and experts are warning about a health emergency unless the growing obesity problem is tackled on a war footing. Once considered a problem of the affluent West, obesity has been spreading in recent years in low and middle-income countries - and nowhere is it spreading more rapidly than in India. Long known as a country of malnourished, underweight people, it has broken into the top 5 countries in terms of obesity in the past few years.

One estimate in 2016 put 135 million Indians as overweight or obese. That number, health experts say, has been growing rapidly and the country's undernourished population is being replaced by an overweight one. According to the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), the most comprehensive household survey of health and social indicators by the government, nearly 23% of men and 24% of women were found to have a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more - a 4% increase for both genders over 2015-16. - The data also shows that 3.4% of children under 5 are now overweight compared with 2.1% in 2015-16.

"We are in an obesity epidemic in India & globally, & I fear it could soon become a pandemic if we don't address it soon," warns Dr Ravindran Kumeran, a surgeon in the southern city of Chennai (Madras) & founder of the Obesity Foundation of India. He blames sedentary lifestyles & the easy availability of cheap, fattening foods as main reasons why "most of us, particularly in urban India, are now out of shape". BMI, calculated by taking an individual's height & weight is the most accepted measure globally to classify people into "normal", "overweight", "obese" & "morbidly obese".

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a BMI of 25 or above is considered overweight. But Dr Kumeran & many other health experts believe that for South Asian populations, it needs to be adjusted at least 2 points lower at each stage because we are prone to "central obesity", which means that we easily put on belly fat, & that's more unhealthy than weight anywhere else on the body. This means that an Indian with a BMI of 23 would be overweight. The WHO also warns that too much body fat increases the risk of non-communicable diseases, including 13 types of cancer, type-2 diabetes, heart problems & lung conditions. Last year, obesity accounted for 2.8 Mill deaths globally... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-61558119
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- CNN: 'India, notorious for malnutrition, is now a land of obesity,' By Moni Basu, *10/2017. New Delhi — In the bedroom Gagan Juneja shares with his twin sister, a small unit above the window blasts chilled air with storm force. Outside, the temperature on this day in Delhi has soared to 108. These days, middle-class families in India can afford air conditioning. It wasn't that way when I was growing up; much of the time, we didn't even have electricity when demand outpaced supply. Our house was dark & hot, & as soon as the sun began its descent, I ran outside to play with the neighborhood girls. I liked kabbadi, a team sport that is physically exhausting.

Gagan tells me kids don't do that anymore. Why would they, he asks, when they have the comfort of AC & a variety of electronic entertainment at hand? Besides, it's too polluted -- Delhi generally vies with Beijing for top billing as the world's most polluted city. "Everyone has a scooty," Gagan says, referring to a popular electric bike. "There is no walking at all. No outdoor activity at all." Though they are twins, Gagan & his sister Muskan don't look alike except in one way: They are both overweight. They are part of a disturbing trend in my homeland: India is getting fatter by the day. Like many of their peers, the 17-year-old Juneja twins have been struggling with body fat. Not only are their lives sedentary, but they also love to eat. And their mother, who by all accounts is a tremendous cook, loves to oblige.

They also eat out with their friends -- something I never did in my youth. Back then, snacking meant buying cheap Indian street food, which usually came in small portions & was made fresh. I ask the Juneja siblings about their favorite restaurant foods. Gagan likes the rich Indian preparation of butter chicken & McDonald's chicken burgers. Muskan prefers Domino's cheese burst pizza. I think about a half page ad I saw on the front page of the Hindustan Times: Dunkin' Donuts touting its "Big Joy" burger. "They are fattening foods," Muskan says, laughing. "That's why I love them."...
- More, https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/10/health/i-on-india-childhood-obesity/