There are 4% more overweight women than men in Mumbai. The new World Health Organisation (WHO) Step Survey, held in association with the BMC, has revealed that 15% female population in the city is obese as compared to 9% male population.
Obesity and excessive weight are two of the lifestyle epidemics stalking Mumbaikars. Almost half (46%) have a BMI (body mass index) of over 25kg/m2 while 12% are obese. Senior health officials attributed this to insufficient physical activity, which is also a result of growing gadgetisation of Indian households.
BMI is the ratio of a person’s weight to their height measured in kilograms per meter square of height. A BMI above 25 and below 30 is considered to be overweight but not obese. A person is considered obese if their BMI is above 30.
Obesity is increasingly being recognised as one of the biggest public health challenges, mainly because of direct correlation with risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, heart ailments as well as infertility problems.
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BMC’s deputy executive health officer Dr Daksha Shah said, “Citizens need to shift their focus to a healthy lifestyle and monitor intake of salt and sugar.”
Dr Manish Motwani, bariatric surgeon at Breach Candy Hospital said obesity levels in women are always high in comparison to men due to weaker metabolism and less consumption of energy. “Hormonal changes in women lead to greater weight gain. Moreover, there are several health issues in obese women such as respiratory illnesses and knee problems. The survey should be eye-opening for everyone and people should take it very seriously considering that our lifestyle has totally changed,” he said.
As per data published in the fifth and latest round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) in 2019 and 2021, nearly one in 16 women and one in 25 men is obese in India. Indians have only been growing fatter over the past 15 years. However, the fifth round of the NFHS conducted between 2019 and 2021 revealed about 6.4% women and 4% men aged 15-49 are obese.
A senior gynaecologist said, “Studies have shown that women tend to have a lower basal metabolic rate compared to men. Also, the amount of energy that they spend on the same physical activity is likely to be lower than that of men. Differences in the body composition, hormones also may explain such differences.”
