Obesity- the new health threat

Sanjeevani has just stepped off the weighing scale. She is in a state of shock. When did those kilos pile on? Samudra had her baby two years ago. She had put on more than 12 kilos during her pregnancy. She was confident that she could lose that weight after her delivery but two years later, she is heavier than she was during her pregnancy. Samhita is 54 and has watched her weight rise insidiously. She has recently been diagnosed as having diabetes.

Think India and malnutrition, food shortages, poverty and high infection rates are the first things that come to mind. The reality though is grimmer in the urban areas: more and more studies are showing the alarming fact that a significant, growing percentage of Indian women are now overweight or obese.

A study conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, reveals that in cities, over 50 per cent of women and 40 per cent of men aged over 35 are overweight. A study conducted by investigators from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Schools of Public Health and Medicine,  found 37 percent of urban women in Andhra Pradesh overweight or obese.

Cause for concern

As obesity rises, India is beginning to feel the burden of associated chronic diseases like heart disease, hypertension and adult-onset diabetes. The World Health Organization estimates the number of diabetics in India will triple from 19.4 million cases in 1995 to 57.2 million in 2025.