Neha Tripathi

In a country where undernutrition once painted the face of its public health crisis, is now facing another silent and heavier epidemic, i.e., Obesity. India has long been concerned about feeding its vast population, which now faces a paradox of plenty. Where one child sleeps with an empty stomach, another battles the problem of high cholesterol and fatty liver. According to a study, “Global, regional, and national prevalence of child and adolescent overweight and obesity, 1990–2021, with forecasts to 2050: a forecasting study for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021”, published in The Lancet in March 2025, the global prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents has increased dramatically, by over 244% from 1990 to 2021. The study further says that obesity is forecasted to show an additional increase of 120.7% between 2021 and 2050. It is expected that if this trend continues, we could see about a third of the world’s children and adolescents being classified as overweight or obese by the year 2050. As per the study, in 2021, among eight countries, India accounted for the second-highest number of overweight and obese individuals, with 180 million affected. The study further forecasted that the number of affected could soar to 450 million by 2050. And, Yes! This is an alarming situation.…read more on NOPR