India may have over 440 million overweight people, according to the latest findings of the study published in the Lancet journal.
The findings were published amid a fat-shaming row over Congress national spokesperson Shama Mohamed’s comments on Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma.
The total number of obese adults by 2050 in India may cross (218 million and 231 million women), which could be the second highest in the world after China, with the US, Brazil, and Nigeria expected to take numbers three, four, and five in the rankings, revealing the findings.
These researchers, including those from the Indian Council of Medical Research, collaborated for the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2021.
As per the study, already almost half the world’s adults—a billion men and over a billion women aged 25 years and above—were overweight and obese in 2021. In India, the numbers were nearly 180 million—81 million men and 98 million women.
However, by 2050, this number globally could rise to nearly 3.8 billion—1.8 billion men and 1.9 billion women—“over half of the likely global adult population at that time,” the authors said.
“While China, India, and the USA will continue to constitute a large proportion of the global population with overweight and obesity, the number in the sub-Saharan Africa super-region is forecasted to increase by 254.8 per cent,” they wrote.
The researchers also estimated that about 16 million boys and over 14 million girls in India, aged 5-14 years, could be overweight and obese by 2050, making it the world’s second highest after China.
However, in the 15-24 age group, the world’s highest burden could come from India, with over 22 million men and nearly 17 million women in the country suffering from this health crisis in 2050.
Also read: Cong spokesperson's fat-shames Rohit Sharma, draws flak
The latest estimates come against the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi making a strong pitch for combating obesity in his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio cast on February 23.
Obesity will have to be dealt with to be a fit and healthy nation, he said.
Obesity, a body mass index (BMI) of over 30, is known to have wide-ranging effects, including raising one’s risk of metabolic and heart disease. It can also impact one’s bone health and fertility and increase cancer risk.
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