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Obesity emerging as major epidemic driving Indias preventable disease burden: Report

NEW DELHI: Nearly one in four adults in India is now obese, and worrying trends are also emerging among children, according to a new report released on the eve of Anti-Obesity Day on Tuesday. The report by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) warned that the situation is set to worsen in the coming decades, with almost one-third of the countrys population projected to be obese by 2050, driven primarily by sedentary lifestyles, high-calorie diets and genetic susceptibility. Obesity is no longer a future concern but an epidemic that is driving Indias growing burden of preventable disease, affecting not only the health of the country but its economic prosperity, the report said. According to the findings in Building on Success to Secure Indias Future Health , obesity is estimated to cost the countrys health system about USD 2.4 billion annually and weigh down economic productivity by an estimated USD 28.9 billion a year, or about 1 per cent of GDP. The report, launched as part of a high-level roundtable discussion on the future of Indias health resilience, stated that India still has the opportunity to slow this trajectory before the projected scenarios materialise. Vivek Agarwal, Country Director, TBI, said, Indias leadership in digital health gives it a unique opportunity to redefine preventive care for the world. By combining technology, data, and community-driven action, India can not only reduce the growing burden of obesity but also build a stronger, more resilient health system for future generations. Maulik Chokshi, Global Director of Health Systems Research and Policy at ACCESS Health International, said, Preventive health must become a central pillar of Indias growth story. The governments focus on digital platforms and community health is already transforming outcomes, but tackling obesity will require a whole-of-society effort linking policy, innovation, and behavioural change at the individual level. Reports like this can help chart the course for that collective action. Dr Anoop Misra, Chairman at Fortis C-DOC Hospital for Diabetes and Allied Sciences, said obesity in Indians behaves differently, it is more inflammatory and metabolically disruptive. Even at lower BMI, Indians develop high blood sugar much earlier. The pattern of fat deposition is also distinct, with excess abdominal and visceral fat emerging as the most dangerous form. This abdominal adiposity drives early diabetes, heart disease, and other metabolic illnesses. Addressing this unique, high-risk obesity phenotype is essential for Indias future health, he added. Neeraj Jain, Director, Growth Operations Asia, Middle East and Europe, PATH, said, India has no shortage of innovation or intent in preventive health. The next step is to bring these initiatives together under a programmatic framework that delivers results at scale. We must raise this conversation from individual projects to a national priority, with the government, industry, and citizens rallying around a shared goal of a healthier India. Experts at the discussion noted that India has the foundations to lead globally on prevention. With strong digital infrastructure, a growing network of primary-care centres, and world-class pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity, the country, they said, can move faster than others to build a prevention-first health system. The way forward, according to experts, lies in action across four key areas, strengthening food-environment regulation to reduce consumption of high-fat, sugar and salt products; scaling digital risk identification through platforms such as Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and e-Sanjeevani; incentivising healthy living using digital rewards linked to the Ayushman Bharat Digital framework; and planning for affordable anti-obesity medicines as Indias pharmaceutical industry prepares for the rollout of generics.