Prevalence of diabetes continues to climb in southern States: NFHS

New Delhi ( Pallavi Srivastava) : The latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) has highlighted the rapid rise of obesity and diabetes across India. Obesity in women (15-49 years) has gone up from 24% in the NFHS-5 to 30.7% in the latest NFHS-6, and similarly obesity in men of the same age group from 22.9% to 27.3%.

Diabetes in persons taking medicines to control insulin resistance has risen from 13.5 % to 17.8% in women, and 15.6% to 20.9% in men

The survey has indicated that obesity/overweight prevalence has increased by about 6.7% among women and 4.4% among men in just five years.

This is particularly so in the southern States of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, which have emerged as a hotspot for overweight and obese adults, alongside rising diabetes prevalence.