Lok Sabha Question No. 3780 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-11
Subject: Prevalence of Obesity
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Rajiv Pratap Rudy

## GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOF HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3780 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.08.2023

## PREVALENCE OF OBESITY

## 3780. SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY:

Will the Minister of HEALTH & FAMILYWELFARE be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that as per the recent studies, the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) has revealed that one in every four Indians is obese;

(b) if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise along with the data on the cases of prevalence of obesity amongst the population in the country;

(c) whether it is true that obesity is the starting point of several life-threatening diseases and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether there has been an increase in obesity among children in the country;

(e) if so, the details thereof along with types of disease risks they face, State/UT-wise; and

(f) whether the Government has taken/proposes to take any steps to restrict the increase in obesity among Indians and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE

## (DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

(a) and (b): As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) (2019-21), 6.4 percent of women and 4.0 percent of men, aged 15-49 years are obese. The state-wise percentage of obese women and men aged 15-49 years according to NFHS-5 (2019-21) is given at Annexure I.

(c): Obesity act as one of the biological risk factors, which can lead to Non-Communicable Diseases.

(d) and (e): As per the NFHS-5, there has been an increase in the percentage of children under 5 years who are overweight (weight-for-height) from 2.1 percent in NFHS-4 (2015-16) to 3.4 percent in NFHS-5 (2019-21) at All-India level. The state-wise percentage of children under 5 years who are overweight (weight-for-height) according to NFHS-5 (2019-21) is given at Annexure II .

(f): The Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, however, provides technical and financial support to the States/UTs under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS), as part of National Health Mission (NHM), based on the proposals received from the States/UTs and subject to the resource envelope. The programme focusses on strengthening infrastructure, human resource development, health promotion & awareness generation for prevention, early diagnosis, management and referral to an appropriate level of healthcare facility for treatment of the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) including obesity.

Preventive aspect of NCDs is strengthened under Comprehensive Primary Health Care through Ayushman Bharat Health Wellness Centre scheme, by promotion of wellness activities and targeted communication at the community level. Other initiatives for increasing public awareness for promotion of healthy lifestyle includes use of print, electronic and social media for continued community awareness. Fit India movement is implemented by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, and various Yoga related activities are carried out by Ministry of AYUSH. In addition,

NPCDCS gives financial support under NHM for awareness generation (IEC) activities for NCDs to be taken up by the States/UTs as per their Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs).

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) through Eat Right India initiatives has taken holistic approach to transform the country's food safety environment and it is based on 3 pillars -

1. Eat Safe which promotes safe and hygienic food
2. Eat Healthy which promotes diet diversification and fortification
3. Eat Sustainable which promotes conservation of water resources, eating local and seasonal foods etc.

FSSAI extensively uses its public awareness material through different social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and promotes a variety of whole grains ranging besides wheat and rice to millets and other indigenous grains for better nutrition and reduce consumption of food high in salt, fat and sugar.

*******

Percentage of women and men age 15-49 years who are obese (Body Mass Index(BMI) ≥ 30.0), NFHS-5, 2019-21

| Sl. No   | State/Union Territory              | Obese (BMI 1 ≥ 30.0)   | Obese (BMI 1 ≥ 30.0)   |
|----------|------------------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|
| Sl. No   | State/Union Territory              | Women                  | Men                    |
| 1        | India                              | 6.4                    | 4.0                    |
| 2        | Andaman &Nicobar Islands           | 12.6                   | 10.8                   |
| 3        | Andhra Pradesh                     | 12.0                   | 6.3                    |
| 4        | Arunachal Pradesh                  | 3.8                    | 3.6                    |
| 5        | Assam                              | 2.5                    | 1.9                    |
| 6        | Bihar                              | 3.3                    | 1.7                    |
| 7        | Chandigarh                         | 16.3                   | 8.6                    |
| 8        | Chhattisgarh                       | 3.3                    | 2.3                    |
| 9        | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu | 7.0                    | 3.1                    |
| 10       | Delhi                              | 14.2                   | 6.9                    |
| 11       | Goa                                | 9.5                    | 2.8                    |
| 12       | Gujarat                            | 6.9                    | 4.4                    |
| 13       | Haryana                            | 9.9                    | 5.9                    |
| 14       | Himachal Pradesh                   | 7.5                    | 4.5                    |
| 15       | Jammu &Kashmir                     | 4.8                    | 3.0                    |
| 16       | Jharkhand                          | 2.5                    | 1.4                    |
| 17       | Karnataka                          | 8.5                    | 5.8                    |
| 18       | Kerala                             | 9.8                    | 6.7                    |
| 19       | Ladakh                             | 3.2                    | 2.9                    |
| 20       | Lakshadweep                        | 6.9                    | 5.0                    |
| 21       | Madhya Pradesh                     | 3.7                    | 2.6                    |
| 22       | Maharashtra                        | 6.3                    | 4.7                    |
| 23       | Manipur                            | 7.4                    | 3.9                    |
| 24       | Meghalaya                          | 1.4                    | 1.6                    |
| 25       | Mizoram                            | 4.6                    | 5.6                    |
| 26       | Nagaland                           | 1.8                    | 2.6                    |
| 27       | Odisha                             | 5.2                    | 4.1                    |
| 28       | Puducherry                         | 18.2                   | 9.2                    |
| 29       | Punjab                             | 14.2                   | 8.3                    |
| 30       | Rajasthan                          | 2.7                    | 1.2                    |
| 31       | Sikkim                             | 6.9                    | 5.8                    |
| 32       | Tamil Nadu                         | 14.1                   | 8.7                    |
| 33       | Telangana                          | 8.9                    | 7.5                    |
| 34       | Tripura                            | 3.9                    | 3.0                    |
| 35       | Uttar Pradesh                      | 5.2                    | 2.9                    |
| 36       | Uttarakhand                        | 7.4                    | 5.0                    |
| 37       | West Bengal                        | 4.6                    | 1.9                    |

Source: NFHS-5 (2019-21) National report; http://rchiips.org/NFHS/index.shtml

1 Excludes pregnant women and women with a birth in the preceding 2 months.

## Percentage of children under 5 years who are overweight (weight-for-height) 2 , NFHS-5, 2019-21

| Sl. No   | State/Union Territory               | Overweight (weight-for-height) 2   | Overweight (weight-for-height) 2   |
|----------|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| Sl. No   | State/Union Territory               | NFHS-5 (2019-21)                   | NFHS-4 (2015-16)                   |
| 1        | India                               | 3.4                                | 2.1                                |
| 2        | Andaman &Nicobar Islands            | 5.4                                | 3                                  |
| 3        | Andhra Pradesh                      | 2.7                                | 1.2                                |
| 4        | Arunachal Pradesh                   | 9.6                                | 4.9                                |
| 5        | Assam                               | 4.8                                | 2.3                                |
| 6        | Bihar                               | 2.4                                | 1.2                                |
| 7        | Chandigarh                          | 1.8                                | 1.1                                |
| 8        | Chhattisgarh                        | 4                                  | 2.9                                |
| 9        | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu$ | 1.9                                | 3.9                                |
| 10       | Delhi                               | 4                                  | 1.2                                |
| 11       | Goa                                 | 2.8                                | 3.7                                |
| 12       | Gujarat                             | 3.9                                | 1.9                                |
| 13       | Haryana                             | 3.3                                | 3.1                                |
| 14       | Himachal Pradesh                    | 5.7                                | 1.9                                |
| 15       | Jammu &Kashmir$                     | 9.6                                | 5.7                                |
| 16       | Jharkhand                           | 2.8                                | 1.5                                |
| 17       | Karnataka                           | 3.2                                | 2.6                                |
| 18       | Kerala                              | 4                                  | 3.4                                |
| 19       | Ladakh$                             | 13.4                               | 4                                  |
| 20       | Lakshadweep                         | 10.5                               | 1.6                                |
| 21       | Madhya Pradesh                      | 2                                  | 1.7                                |
| 22       | Maharashtra                         | 4.1                                | 1.9                                |
| 23       | Manipur                             | 3.3                                | 3.1                                |
| 24       | Meghalaya                           | 4                                  | 3.9                                |
| 25       | Mizoram                             | 10                                 | 4.2                                |
| 26       | Nagaland                            | 4.9                                | 3.8                                |
| 27       | Odisha                              | 3.5                                | 2.6                                |
| 28       | Puducherry                          | 3.8                                | 2.2                                |
| 29       | Punjab                              | 4.1                                | 2.3                                |
| 30       | Rajasthan                           | 3.3                                | 2.1                                |
| 31       | Sikkim                              | 9.6                                | 8.6                                |
| 32       | Tamil Nadu                          | 4.3                                | 5                                  |
| 33       | Telangana                           | 3.4                                | 0.7                                |
| 34       | Tripura                             | 8.2                                | 3                                  |
| 35       | Uttar Pradesh                       | 3.1                                | 1.5                                |
| 36       | Uttarakhand                         | 4.1                                | 3.5                                |
| 37       | West Bengal                         | 4.3                                | 2.1                                |

Source: NFHS-5 (2019-21) and NFHS-4 (2015-16) National reports (table no. 10.2); http://rchiips.org/NFHS/index.shtml. $ Data source is NFHS-5 Factsheet.

Note: Table is based on children who stayed in the household the night before the interview. Each of the indices is expressed in standard deviation (SD) units from the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards. Table is based on children with valid dates of birth (month and year) and valid measurement of both height and weight 2 Above +2 standard deviations, based on the WHO standard.