Obesity in India

While studying 22 different SNPs near to MC₄-R gene, scientists have identified an SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) named rs12970134 to be mostly associated with waist circumference. In this study more than two thousand individuals of Indian origin participated and the aforementioned SNP is highly prevalent in this group.

Internationally, a BMI over 25 kg/m² is considered overweight. Due to genetic tendency of Indians towards abdominal obesity and its associated risk of related lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and anemia, guidelines for diagnosis of obesity and abdominal obesity for India have been published in JAPI (2009) that a BMI over 23 kg/m² is considered overweight. Further definitions: Normal BMI: 18.0-22.9 kg/m², Overweight: 23.0-24.9 kg/m², Obesity: >25 kg/m².

NFHS data

This is a list of the states of India ranked in order of percentage of people who are overweight or obese, based on data from the 2016-2021National Family Health Survey.