NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 4, 2001: A new report, published in the October issue of the Journal of Nutrition, underscores obesity as a growing nutritional problem. Several studies since the late 1990’s have shown that obesity is on the rise in India, particularly among more affluent women living in urban areas. In a country where more than 50% of women are anemic and more than half the children below the age of five are seriously malnourished, nutritionists believe obesity has often been ignored as a health problem. In a survey of 4,032 women in cities and villages in the state of Andhra Pradesh, 37% of the women in the cities were overweight or obese. Across the state, 12% of the women were overweight and two percent were obese. “Obesity is becoming a chronic problem with many Indian women because of the improper, unbalanced diet they consume and the sedentary lives they lead,” says Ishi Khosla, a senior consultant nutritionists from New Delhi. Khosla notes that obesity, besides increasing the risk of high blood pressure, type two diabetes and other serious health problems is often a sign of poor nutrition. Consumption of white rice is one notable contributor to the onset of type two diabetes, which is caused by poor diet.
A daily summary of world news for Hindus and non-Hindus alike