Health Indians likely to be more obese than white people, get diabetes

Experts say calculating obesity based on BMI levels not suitable for Indians

Public health experts in India said that the presence of body fat, abdominal fat, pancreatic fat and a lower lean mass than white people are contributing to more metabolic and cardiovascular disease in Indians. According to the article “Obesity, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases in India: Public Health Challenges” published in Current Diabetes Review, the categorisation of obesity based on BMI levels, as used in the West, does not accurately reflect the metabolic risk in Indians.

According to experts, a clear political will and concerted efforts from multiple stakeholders could help counter the increasingly difficult challenge.

Experts found nutrition and lifestyle transitions as primary reasons for the increase in non- communicable diseases, including coronary heart disease and type- 2 diabetes, in India. Such diseases cause nearly 5.8 million deaths per year in the country.

Experts said that, though it is diffuclt to reverse and decrease the pace at which these diseases are affecting Indians, it is not impossible. “To tackle the juggernaut of diabetes and heart disease in India, innovative strategies are agressively needed. One such move is preventive and management care at the doorsteps of the underserved population using customised mobile vans, which we have used successfully in Delhi,” said Dr Anoop Misra, chairperson of Fortis-CDOC Centre of Excellence for Diabetes, Metabolic Diseases and Endocrinology, and one of the contributors to the article.

Experts felt that concerted efforts from multiple stakeholders, intensely focused attention from health officials and clear political will could help counter this increasingly difficult challenge, the article said.

According to the article, written after the compilation of various studies conducted at national and international level, the South Asian region — which is home to more than 1.7 billion people — is currently experiencing a marked demographic transition characterised by declining birth and death rates and an increasingly ageing population.