Epidemiology of overweight and obesity in Indian adults - A secondary data analysis of the National Family Health Surveys.

AIMS

National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted in India provide nationally comparable data on socio-demographic characteristics and anthropometric estimates. Present study was conducted to examine the prevalence of Indian adults who are living with overweight/obesity, their correlates, and trends observed between the last two rounds of the NFHS 2005-06 to 2015-16).

METHODS

Socio-demographic characteristics and anthropometric estimates of respondents from NFHS round III & IV were analysed. Asian cut-offs were used for obesity classification. Of the total 198,754 and 811,808 eligible respondents, adults ≥18 years of age were included in the analysis. Prevalence and correlates were presented after taking into account stratification, clustering and sampling weights. GIS mapping was done to depict regional variations.

RESULTS

Prevalence of men and women living with overweight/obesity were observed to be 38.4% and 36.2% respectively. Wide variations were observed in prevalence across the regions of India. Results of multivariate analysis showed that the strongest predictors for being overweight or obese were older age, currently in union, higher education, richest wealth quintile, and living in urban areas.

CONCLUSION

The present study highlights the rising prevalence across the urban and rural locations and has implications for policy change based on the prevalence estimates.