Lok Sabha Question No. 2364 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-13
Subject: Cases of Obesity
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Dr. Sambit Patra

## GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2364 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13 TH FEBRUARY, 2026

## CASES OF OBESITY

## †2364. DR. SAMBIT PATRA :

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state :

- (a) whether the Government has conducted any assessment or study regarding the number of obese women, men, boys and girls in the country and if so, the details thereof, State-wise;
- (b) whether any proposal is under consideration to revise the definition of clinical obesity and preclinical obesity and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether any proposal is under consideration to constitute a task force on obesity prevention in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government has been running any public awareness campaign against obesity in the country and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether any proposal is under consideration to classify obesity as a public health epidemic and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV)

(a) & (b) ICMR conducted a study entitled 'ICMR-India Diabetes (ICMR-INDIAB)' study, from 2008 to 2020, in the 30 States/UTs across the country. In this study, a total of 113043 individuals aged 20 years and older have been included. As per data from this study, the overall weighted prevalence of generalized obesity is 28.6% and abdominal obesity 39.5%. The state/UT wise prevalence of obesity (generalized & abdominal) is given at Annexure -I

- (c) to (e) Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) conduct risk assessments, including waist circumference measurement, for individuals using the Community-Based Assessment Checklist (CBAC). Ministry of Health and Family Welfare implements a life cycle approach under National Health Mission (NHM), which includes interventions to address nutrition among children including obesity across the country, as placed below:

i Eat Right Movement launched by Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) aims to engage and enable citizens including children to improve their health and wellbeing by eating healthy and nutritious foods and creates public awareness that regular and excessive consumption of foods high in salt, sugar and fat leads to obesity.

ii The Government of India focuses on health promotion and awareness generation through countrywide movements like 'Fit India Movement' where people are encouraged to remain healthy and fit.

iii. The following activities for healthy living including physical activities are also promoted through the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NPNCD):

-  Promotion of wellness activities and targeted communications at the community level are undertaken under the Comprehensive Primary Health Care through Ayushman Aarogya Mandir (AAM).
-  Financial support for awareness generation activities (IEC) through print, electronic and social media under NP-NCD.
-  Yoga related activities are carried out by the Ministry of AYUSH.
-  Health Melas are organized at each AAM to generate awareness about healthy lifestyles.
-  Under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK ) , a national child health screening programme is implemented for early detection and free treatment of health conditions among children from birth to 18 years.
-  Under the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK), the Government implements preventive, promotive and curative interventions to improve the health and well-being of adolescents in the age group of 10-19 years.

## Annexure referred to in reply to point (a) of the PQ 2364 to be answered on 13.02.2026

## Annexure-I

| States/UTs        |   Generalized Obesity (%) |   Abdominal Obesity (%) |
|-------------------|---------------------------|-------------------------|
| Himachal Pradesh  |                      38.6 |                    54.6 |
| Punjab            |                      39.7 |                    57.2 |
| Chandigarh        |                      31.3 |                    36.2 |
| Uttarakhand       |                      33.4 |                    46.1 |
| Haryana           |                      37.8 |                    56.9 |
| Delhi             |                      41.8 |                    55   |
| Rajasthan         |                      23.4 |                    34.6 |
| Uttar Pradesh     |                      24.1 |                    33.5 |
| Bihar             |                      14.5 |                    26.1 |
| Sikkim            |                      39.8 |                    48.4 |
| Arunachal Pradesh |                      23.2 |                    32.9 |
| Nagaland          |                      21.1 |                    30.3 |
| Manipur           |                      30.4 |                    40.7 |
| Mizoram           |                      21.9 |                    28.9 |
| Tripura           |                      15.5 |                    29.6 |
| Meghalaya         |                      13.9 |                    24.8 |
| Assam             |                      14.7 |                    24.7 |
| West Bengal       |                      24.8 |                    39.4 |
| Jharkhand         |                      11.7 |                    16.8 |
| Odisha            |                      28.8 |                    39.1 |
| Chhattisgarh      |                      18.8 |                    29.5 |
| Madya Pradesh     |                      18.3 |                    27.2 |
| Gujarat           |                      22.1 |                    28.4 |
| Maharashtra       |                      16.6 |                    18.7 |
| Andhra Pradesh    |                      25   |                    23.5 |
| Karnataka         |                      22.9 |                    31.8 |
| Goa               |                      40.3 |                    47.6 |
| Kerala            |                      43.6 |                    58.2 |
| Tamil Nadu        |                      24.5 |                    26.6 |
| Puducherry        |                      45.9 |                    51.8 |