Amid rise in unhealthy eating patterns and the prevalence of fast food as a norm, a new study paints a worrying picture for the future. By 2050, India may have a staggering 450 million (45 crore) population of obese or overweight people over the age of 25 years, according to a study published by The Lancet.
The figure is preceded by China, which is projected to have 627 million overweight or obese people by 2050 and is followed by the United States of America, with the number reaching 214 million.
According to the study, India, China, and the USA “would continue to be the three countries with the largest numbers of people with overweight and obesity.”
Globally, if the historical trends and patterns continue, around 3.8 billion people over the age of 25 years across the world might be overweight or obese, which will be “over half of the likely global adult population at that time”, the research said. Out of this figure, 1.95 billion people are projected to be obese.
In the sub-Saharan Africa super-region, the number of overweight or obese people is projected to rise by a whopping 254.8 per cent, the study revealed.
As of 2021, a total of 2.11 billion adult people were found to be either obese or overweight across the world, out of which, one billion were male and 1.11 billion were female. China topped the chart with 402 million people, followed by India with 180 million people and the USA with 172 million people.
The global prevalence of obesity has increased by 155.1 per cent in males and 104.9% in females since 1990, the study said. In India, the prevalence of obesity was estimated at 4·4 per cent for males and 7·5 per cent for females.
While China, India, and the USA had the most number of obese or overweight people, the most rapid rise of obesity prevalence was observed in the north Africa and the Middle East super-region, the study said.
Along with India, seven more countries – China, the USA, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Indonesia, and Egypt, constituted over half of the global obese or overweight population.
The trend of obesity has risen in several countries across the world as the fast-food chains have shifted their focus from the high-income countries (HICs) to low and middle-income countries (LMICs). According to the study, in LMIc, the “population growth, improvement in per-capita income, and weaker regulations have created favourable markets for expansion.”
India is among the three countries, along with Cameroon and Vietnam, where the largest annual growth in ultra-processed food and beverage sales per capita was observed between 2009 and 2019.
