One in three Indians is overweight, shows study

Mumbai: India is losing the battle against the bulge, with one in three citizens exceeding their ideal weight. 

    A fatter chunk of these overweight people come from Tier-II cities like Kochi, Ludhiana and Nagpur rather than the metros as believed earlier. 
    A new 11-city survey not only showed that 36% of the people surveyed were above their ideal weight, but also indicated how rapidly the obesity epidemic could progress — 23% of the people classified as healthy individuals were on the verge of turning overweight. In other words, their body mass index (BMI) was poised to tip over the healthy count of 22.9. 
    The silver lining was that only 27% of those surveyed in Mumbai were obese—the least among the 11 cities—and 49% of the respondents were within the healthy parameters. 
    On the other hand, a mini metro like Kochi had 46% respondents above normal weight, raising a new concern about smaller cities. 
    "The survey brings out for the first time that our non -metro cities, too, are affected by obesity. Given the eating-out culture that is becoming popular across the country, this is not surprising," said surgeon Raman Goel. 
    Around 41% of those surveyed in Punjab's Ludhiana district were over their ideal weight, while 4% respondents in Nagpur were morbidly obese (as against the 2% national average).