Today is World Obesity Day

March 4 is commemorated at World Obesity Day. Since 2015, the World Obesity Day was initiated as an annual campaign with the objective of stimulating actions and supporting practical or possible solutions that will help people achieve and maintain a healthy weight. The ultimate objective of this effort is to strive towards achieving a reversal of the global obesity crisis.

Obesity is a health concern that increases the risk of other diseases, such as heart ailments, diabetes, high blood pressure, and certain types of cancers.

Healthcare professionals say it is important to revisit the financial implications of obesity on our society. While the direct medical costs may just include preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services, there are certain indirect costs related to sickness, lost productivity, and even death. Productivity measures include employees being absent from work for obesity-related health reasons, decreased productivity while at work, disability and even premature death, all add to this burden.

“Being overweight and obesity are major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, stroke,



diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnea, fatty liver disease.

“Obesity is defined as a body mass index is greater than or equal to 27.5kg/m2 in the Asian population. Southern India (46.51 per cent) shows the highest prevalence, while eastern India shows the lowest (32.96 per cent). 

“According to the World Bank, many low- and middle-income countries, like India, are burdened by high prevalence of both undernutrition and obesity. Easy accessibility of junk foods and packaged foods has increased the risk of obesity even among the economically weaker sections of the society, especially in the urban parts of India. 

To avoid the rise of obesity in future generations, governments and development partners must adopt a comprehensive approach, which includes a strong focus on preventative measures. Obesity among children is a major cause for concern because it leads to psychological problems such as anxiety and depression, in addition to this leading to social problems such as bullying and stigma. Hence, it is important that efforts are made to address the root cause of this problem