The latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6), released last week, revealed a sharp rise in obesity among adult Indians. Public health organizations and experts have flagged excessive weight gain as a concern, with India already having the second-largest obese population after China.
Obesity is linked to a higher risk of diabetes and cardiac disease. Mint unpacks the reasons for the rise in obesity, its impact on the country and how they are being addressed.
What does the survey say?
The NFHS-6 conducted in FY24 by the health ministry shows that 30.7% of women were overweight or obese that year, up from 24% in 2019-21 and 27.3% of men were obese, an increase from 22.9% in 2019-21. Obesity was measured as per Body Mass Index (BMI).
That made almost one in three women and one in over four men in the country overweight. Obesity for both was higher in the urban areas than in the rural areas.
A landmark analysis of the NFHS-5 survey from 2019-21, published in The Lancet, highlighted that abdominal obesity was far more widespread than BMI-based obesity. Many people classified as “normal weight” can still have unhealthy levels of visceral or belly fat. The prevalence of abdominal obesity was found to be 40% in women and 12% in men.
Why is obesity increasing?
Public health experts have repeatedly blamed rapidly changing lifestyles and urbanization as the key reasons for increasing obesity. This is because of reduced physical activity, greater consumption of ultra-processed food and higher intake of sugar, refined carbohydrates and fat.
A survey by the Indian Council of Medical Research published in 2025 linked rapid dietary transitions with an alarming rise in cardiometabolic diseases. According to the study, Indian diets are characterized by low-quality carbohydrates (white rice, milled whole grains and added sugar), high levels of saturated fat and low intake of protein. Those with the highest intake of carbs had a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, generalized obesity and abdominal obesity, the survey said.
Recent research points to a higher vulnerability among South Asian bodies to accumulate more belly fat, have less muscle mass and develop insulin resistance faster—at lower BMIs than Caucasian adults.
What are the risks and costs?
Obesity is strongly linked to diabetes. The NFHS-6 survey revealed that the number of men who reported high or very high blood sugar levels or took medicine to control it increased to 20.9% from 15.6%, while for women, this share grew to 17.8% from 13.5%. Again, the urban areas reported much higher numbers here.
Obesity is also linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and fatty liver disease.
According to the World Obesity Federation, the economic impact of overweight and obesity in India was estimated to be $28.95 billion in 2019, roughly 1% of GDP. By 2030, it is projected to be $81.53 billion or 1.57% of GDP.
What has been India’s policy response?
India lacks a national obesity strategy or major fiscal measures to reduce intake of carbohydrates and saturated fats and increase the intake of plant and dietary proteins.
The country’s response to obesity has largely been embedded within the broader fight against non-communicable diseases, largely diabetes and cardiovascular disease, with screening programmes, dietary awareness campaigns and South Asia-specific BMI guidelines.
GLP-1 drugs, used for type-2 diabetes and obesity, have made their way into the country over the past two years and have become more accessible as generic copies were launched in March at half the price – at about ₹4,000 a month.
What is the dichotomy that the survey reveals?
While a section of the country faces an obesity crisis, undernutrition remains a serious concern, especially in rural India, as highlighted in the NFHS survey.
Almost one in five adults surveyed was underweight, with the number of men in this category increasing from 16.2% to 19.7% and the number of women rising from 18.7% to 19.7%.
Almost every third child under the age 5 surveyed suffered from stunting (or being too short for age), and every fifth child under 5 was underweight for their height.