Attention! One in every five adults is obese in Lucknow; Are you too?

Lucknow: Hey Lucknowites! Do you love eating at the Tundey’s and hang out at ‘Sharma Chai’? Think that an extra cheese pizza from 'Dominos' won’t hurt and one more plate of ‘Bajpai’s Kachauri’ wouldn’t affect health? Don’t feel like hitting the gym or do not left with time and energy to burn out those extra calories?

It is pretty obvious if you are a residing in this ‘nawabi city’ but, before starting to day dream about the mouth-watering dishes, you really need to give attention to a report by the National Family Health Survey.

The data of the fourth edition of NFHS, one in every five adults in Lucknow is overweight or obese!

According to the district fact sheet of the report, 20.3 per cent persons in the 15-49 age groups in Lucknow were either overweight or obese. This is more than the state average of 14.5 per cent besides also being more than the national average of 19.6 per cent.

Check out what the detailed report shows:

Total obese population—(Men and Women)

6.67 lakh men and women in the city, out of its current population of 33.3 lakh, have extra pounds on themselves.

The finding also suggested that in what could be an alarming trend, overweight obese population in city has doubled since NFHS-3 (2005-06) when only 8.2 per cent population fell in this category.

Also Read: Do you really know what black tea can do to your body…!

Urban women more prone—(Even more than men)

The estimates in the NFHS-4 data further reveals that the problem was more common in urban women than men.

The estimates suggested that 28 per cent of women in urban Lucknow were fat against 19 per cent men. The pattern in rural areas was just the opposite with 10 per cent women being overweight obese against 16 per cent men.

Problem of being overweight and obesity was higher in urban areas as compared to rural ones. In Lucknow, 23.6 per cent urban residents fall in the 'above normal weight' category as compared to 12.2 per cent rural residents.

Here is what experts say:

Experts in lifestyle diseases say that the findings must be taken seriously in wake of rising burden of non-communicable diseases in India.

According to a faculty member at King George Medical University, Prof Kauser Usman, "Overweight or obesity is an important risk factor for NCDs, the burden of which can be reduced by weight and lifestyle management alone.”

Head of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery department, SGPGI, Prof Nirmal said , "The data speaks for population in the 15-49 age group which is the working population. These people stand at the threshold of disease and the clock is ticking. It calls for sprucing up prevention and awareness on lifestyle modification which includes eating low fat, sugar and salt diet besides moderately exercising regularly," he said.

You may also Read: Eat bananas, avocados daily to prevent heart disease

Click on the next slide to know what exactly the Obesity is?

What is obesity?

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have a negative effect on health. People are generally considered obese when their body mass index (BMI), a measurement obtained by dividing a person's weight by the square of the person's height, is over 30 kg/m2, with the range 25–30 kg/m2 defined as overweight.

Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide, with increasing rates in adults and children.

Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive food intake, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility.

Obesity is mostly preventable through a combination of social changes and personal choices.

Changes to diet and exercising are the main treatments. Diet quality can be improved by reducing the consumption of energy-dense foods.