National survey finds people from the state are the most obese in the countryCourtesy the calorie-rich diet, heavy reliance on dairy products and the substantially reduced physical activity, Punjabis have now officially earned the dubious distinction of being the country’s most ‘over-fed’ community.The latest National Family Health Survey, released by the Health Ministry here today, has found that 30 per cent of the women in the state, in the age group of 15-49, are overweight, the highest in the country. The men are not far behind either, as 22 per cent of the men in the age group of 15-54 years, again the highest in the country, are overweight. Nearly 3,000 households in the state were part of the survey. The figure is way above the national average of 13 per cent for women and 9 per cent for men.Kerala comes a close second with 28.1 per cent women and 17.8 per cent men being overweight. The capital, Delhi, has 26.4 per cent women and 16.8 per cent men suffering from obesity, as per the survey.Bihar comes last among women with 4.6 per cent of them being obese and Madhya Pradesh has the least number of overweight men - 4.3 per cent.Expressing her concern over obesity emerging as the biggest health concern in Punjab, Kerala and Delhi, Prof Kamla Gupta of International Institute of Population Studies, Mumbai, and the member of the team which conducted the survey along with CRRID, Chandigarh, said it would lead to a plethora of non-communicable diseases. “Punjabis have a calorie-rich diet, with heavy intake of dairy products and relatively lesser use of green vegetables and fiber. This could be one of the reasons that obesity has emerged as a serious concern here,” she said.“Obesity is a big problem facing women in India, particularly older women and women living in urban areas. About one-quarter of women in these groups suffer from obesity. Sikh women are more likely than women in any other group to be obese,” notes the survey.
