World Obesity Day 2024 will be observed on 4 March. Obesity among children has increased rapidly in India. Statistics for 2022 show that about 1.25 crore children aged 5 to 19 years are overweight than normal. In 1990 this number was 40 lakh.
According to a study published in The Lancet Journal, out of these 1.25 crore suffering from this problem, 73 lakh are boys and 52 lakh are girls.
The total number of children, adolescents and adults suffering from obesity globally has exceeded 100 crore. Obesity and being underweight are both forms of malnutrition and are harmful to health in different ways.
The NCD Risk Factors Collaboration (NCD-RISC) is a worldwide network of scientists. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity rates among the world’s children and adolescents in 2022 are four times higher than in 1990.
Adult obesity rates in India were expected to increase from 1.2% in 1990 to 9.8% by 2022 for women and from 0.5% to 5.4% for men. It was reported that approximately 4.4 crore women and 2.6 crore men were affected by obesity in 2022. ,
Between 1990 and 2022, the proportion of underweight children and adolescents worldwide was projected to decline by nearly a fifth for girls and by more than a third for boys. At the same time, the proportion of underweight adults worldwide has more than halved.
Obesity rates among girls are expected to increase from 0.1% in 1990 to 3.1% in 2022. For boys, it increased from 0.1% to 3.9% over the same period. Surveys have shown that, from 1990 to 2022, global obesity rates will increase more than fourfold in both girls and boys, with the increase occurring in almost all countries.
‘Obesity is a growing health crisis’
“Obesity is a growing health crisis and worryingly, it continues to affect our youth at an alarming rate. Such studies attract our attention. It is time for policy makers, health care professionals and the community to come together,” said Dr Pradeep Choubey, Chairman, Max Institute of Laparoscopic, Endoscopic, Bariatric Surgery and Allied Surgical Specialties, Max Super Specialty Hospital, Saket.
“The health of our nation depends on addressing this issue head-on. We need a proactive approach and shift our efforts towards awareness and prevention, starting with empowering children and families to make healthy choices,” said Dr Choubey.
“Bariatric surgery has proven to be a gold standard treatment option for the morbidly obese and will always be a tool, but a healthy future requires more. This threat is putting a strain on not only our healthcare system but our country’s overall economy.”
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Published: March 03, 2024, 12:29 pm IST
