Epidemiology of Overweight and Obesity in South Asia

The South Asian region has witnessed an accelerated rise in overweight and obesity over recent decades, driven by rapid urbanisation, economic growth and shifts in dietary patterns. Traditional diets rich in cereals and legumes have given way to energy-dense foods high in fats, sugars and salt, accompanied by declining levels of physical activity in both urban and rural communities. This nutrition transition has precipitated an epidemiological transition characterised by a growing burden of non-communicable diseases, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disorders. The prevalence of overweight and obesity now coexists alongside persistent undernutrition, creating a double burden of malnutrition that places considerable strain on health systems. Patterns vary by socioeconomic status: while wealthier and more educated groups historically exhibited higher obesity rates, recent evidence indicates that lower socioeconomic strata are experiencing faster increases in overweight as urban–rural disparities narrow. Middle-aged adults and women often display the highest rates of excess weight, and measures of central adiposity are increasingly recognised as strong predictors of cardiometabolic risk. The global significance of these trends extends beyond South Asia, as interventions aimed at preventing obesity in this densely populated region have the potential to inform policies on dietary regulation, urban planning and primary health care worldwide.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have quantified the prevalence and determinants of obesity and its cardiovascular sequelae among tertiary-educated populations. A cross-sectional analysis of university academic staff revealed that more than a quarter exhibited general obesity and nearly half had abdominal obesity, with hypertension affecting one in three individuals. Female gender and low physical activity emerged as independent predictors of both general and central obesity, whereas older age, increased body mass index, waist circumference, diabetes and smoking were significantly associated with hypertension. These findings underscore the need for targeted screening and workplace-based prevention programmes to identify high-risk cohorts and mitigate long-term health consequences.

Epidemiology of Overweight and Obesity in South Asia publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in epidemiology of overweight and obesity in south asia across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Body mass index (BMI): A numeric measure of weight relative to height (kg/m2), commonly used to classify underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity.

Abdominal obesity: Excess fat accumulation around the waist, often assessed by waist circumference, closely linked to cardiometabolic risk.

Epidemiological transition: The shift in disease patterns from infectious and nutritional deficiencies to chronic non-communicable diseases as countries develop.

Double burden of malnutrition: The coexistence of undernutrition and overnutrition within populations, households or individuals.

References

1. Defining and Diagnosing Obesity in India: A Call for Advocacy and Action. Journal of Obesity (2023).
2. The prevalence and factors associated with obesity and hypertension in university academic staff: a cross-sectional study in Bangladesh. Scientific Reports (2023).
3. Patterns of change in the association between socioeconomic status and body mass index distribution in India, 1999–2021. Journal of Global Health (2024).
4. Nutrition transition in South Asia: the emergence of non-communicable chronic diseases. F1000Research (2015).