Why Indians need to shed weight for the developed economy goal

If Indians don’t lose weight, they can forget about becoming a developed economy, a long-term goal set by the government. It”s widely argued that it is the Indian economy’s moment to shine because it has a big demographic dividend, and a large population of youth which can turn into a huge productivity boost, especially when population in many developed economies is aging.But the Economic Survey 2023-24, released today, warns that India won’t be able to reap its demographic dividend if Indians do not get fit.

“If India needs to reap the gains of its demographic dividend, it is critical that its population’s health parameters transition towards a balanced and diverse diet,” the survey says. A key health challenge it has pointed out is obesity.

“Obesity is emerging as a serious concern among India’s adult population. According to National Family Health Survey 5 (NFHS-5), the percentage of men facing obesity in the age bracket 18-69 has increased to 22.9 per cent in NFHS-5 from 18.9 per cent in NFHS-4. For women, it has increased from 20.6% (NFHS-4) to 24.0% (NFHS-5),” it says.

Which state has how many obese people?

The Economic Survey 2023-24 gives the spatial distribution of India’s obesity challenge as per NFHS-5 vis-à-vis NFHS-4, by listing obesity figures for different states,

In Tamil Nadu, for men, it is 37.0% (vs. 28.2% in NFHS-4), and it is 40.4% for women (vs. 30.9% in NFHS-4). In Uttar Pradesh, for women, it has gone up to 21.3% (NFHS-5) from 16.5% (NFHS-4), and for men, it has gone up to 18.5% (NFHS-5) from 12.5% (NFHS-4). In Kerala, for women, it has gone up to 38.1% (NFHS-5) from 32.4% (NFHS-4), and for men, it has gone up to 36.4% (NFHS-5) from 28.5% (NFHS-4).

In West Bengal, for women, it has gone up to 22.7% (NFHS-5) from 19.9% (NFHS-4), and for men, it has gone up to 16.2% (NFHS-5) from 14.2% (NFHS-4).

In Karnataka, the increase over NFHS-4 is 7% points for women (30.1% vs. 23.3%) and nearly 9% points (30.9% vs. 22.1%) for men.

In Andhra, it is 36.3% for women (vs. 33.2%). However, for men, the number has dropped to 31.1% (vs. 33.5%).

At 30.1% and 32.3%, respectively, the proportion of women and men who are overweight in Telangana has increased from 28.6% for women to 24.2% for men in NFHS-4.

In Maharashtra, for women, it has remained the same across NFHS-4 and NFHS-5 at 23.4%, while for men, it has gone up to 24.7% (NFHS-5) from 23.8% (NFHS-4).

In Madhya Pradesh, for women, it has gone up to 16.6% (NFHS-5) from 13.6% (NFHS4), and for men, it has gone up to 15.6% (NFHS-5) from 10.9% (NFHS-4).

In Jharkhand, for women, it has gone up to 11.9% (NFHS-5) from 10.3% (NFHS-4), and for men, it has gone up to 15.1% (NFHS-5) from 11.1% (NFHS-4).

In Bihar, for women, it has gone up to 15.9% (NFHS-5) from 11.7% (NFHS-4), and for men, it has gone up to 14.7% (NFHS-5) from 12.6% (NFHS-4).

In the NCT (Delhi), the proportion of women with obesity is 41.3% (vs 33.5%), and for men, it is 38.0% (vs 24.6%).

Cities have more obese Indians

At the All-India level, a quick perusal of the data shows that the incidence of obesity, as per NFHS5, is significantly higher in urban India than in rural India (29.8% vs. 19.3% for men and 33.2% vs. 19.7% for women).

Combined with an ageing population in some states, obesity presents a concerning situation. Preventive measures must be taken to enable
citizens to have a healthier lifestyle. Here, it is pertinent to note that the NFHS-5 Survey overlapped with the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, with restrictions on outside activities and lockdowns, sedentary lifestyles may have become more entrenched, resulting in the obesity proportion going up much more in NFHS-5. If the trend reverses in NFHS-6, it will be a healthy sign.