Economic Survey Flags Obesity as a Major Threat to India's Health
The Economic Survey 2023-24 [PDF] , tabled on July 22, 2024 in Parliament, had raised concerns over two critical aspects of health: the rise in obesity and mental health crisis. Highlights: 56.4 per cent of the total disease burden in India is due to unhealthy diets. Obesity is emerging as a serious concern among India’s adult population. Rise in children is the steepest in the world for India, behind Vietnam and Namibia. The incidence of obesity is significantly higher in urban India than in rural India. Over 100 million people in the country may have diabetes, one of the most common non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The prevalence of NCDs in India has tripled since 1995. Nutrition literacy must be promoted in schools, primary health care settings and through mass media.