In Gujarat, 1 in 3 persons is overweight; heart bears brunt: NFHS

Ahmedabad: Four years ago, one in five Gujarati adults was overweight. Today, it is closer to one in three. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) for 2023-24 documents one of the fastest spikes in adult obesity. The consequences — elevated blood sugar and blood pressure — are already visible in the data.

The obesity numbers are the headline finding. Among women, the share of those who are overweight or obese climbed from 22.7% to 32.1% between the last two survey rounds.

Obesity in men tracked almost identically, rising from 20.0% to 29.9%. That is a jump of nearly ten percentage points in four years — a pace that health planners describe as a metabolic transition arriving far faster than public systems can absorb.

For comparison, Meghalaya records female obesity at just 13.8%.

However, the share of underweight women in Gujarat fell from 25.2% to 23.6%.

The new fight is serious. Excess weight is a gateway condition: sustained long enough, it erodes the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar and maintain a healthy blood pressure.

Both are now measurably worse in Gujarat. High blood sugar — including those managing it through daily medication — affects 18.6% of men, up from 16.9%.

In women, the condition rose more slowly, affecting 16.4% from 15.8%. For perspective: Ladakh reports high sugar levels in just 6.7% of women.

Blood pressure tells a similar story. Hypertension now affects 22.3% of Gujarati men, up from 20.3% four years ago. Women’s rate, at 20.9%, has held relatively steady — but at a level that remains high.

Uttar Pradesh posts female hypertension of just 12.1%, among the lowest in the country. (inputs from Shinjini Sen)