India is witnessing a speedy transformation of public health trends, and among the most critical of these is the staggering surge of the obesity epidemic among women, particularly those above the age of 35. Historically, India’s character nutrition issue has been undernutrition. Due to lifestyle changes, urbanization, and eating habits, obesity has become a severe public health epidemic of the times.
As per National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), the rate of overweight or obese women between the ages of 35-49 years has risen alarmingly. Almost every second woman in this age group is overweight or obese. A phenomenon that was so far limited to affluent societies has now engulfed the entire population base of Indians.
The Alarming Statistics
New 2022 estimates of the Global Burden of Disease Study in The Lancet place 44 million Indian women and 26 million Indian men in 2022 as obese. The disparity in burden indicates gender-differentiated vulnerabilities in India’s fight against obesity.
Some revealing state-level data from NFHS-5 are:
Delhi: 41.3% of women are overweight or obese.
Kerala: 38.1% of women belong here.
Punjab: More than 40% of women over 35 years of age are obese.
Uttar Pradesh: Less urbanized state, contributes to 21.3% prevalence.
These figures reveal that obesity is no longer a metro city disease — it’s about to assume epidemic proportions in rural and semi-urban regions too.
Principal Causes of the Epidemic
1. Altered Lifestyles
With growing urbanization, more and more women have sedentary lifestyles. Long working hours of office jobs, less physical work, and more screen time are all resulting in decreased energy expenditure.
2. Dietary changes
There has been a complete shift from traditional Indian diets (vegetarian and cereals, high fibre) to high-fat, high-sugar, and processed food diets. Packaged foods, soft drinks, and fast foods have made a place in the daily platter.
3. Age and hormonal considerations
The female sex also experiences different hormonal changes after the age of 35, specifically during menopause and perimenopause. The hormonal changes, especially low levels of estrogen, result in fat redistribution and lower metabolism, hence resulting in increased weight gain.
4. Cultural factors
Women in most Indian households value the health of their families more than their own. They go without meals or eat leftovers, resulting in the consumption of high-calorie and low-nutrient foods.
5. Stress and Mental Well-being
Workplace stress, household chores, and societal pressures create emotional eating and eating disorders. Cortisol levels rise due to chronic stress, and therefore fat deposition results, with a greater preponderance around the abdominal region.
6. Deficit in Physical Infrastructure
Few spaces are available to women to work out in most cities and towns. The fact that there are no specific women’s exercise programs during the period between their 30s and 40s adds to the problem.
Health Impacts: More Than Just Weight
Obesity is not just a matter of weight or appearance; it’s a doorway to a whole package of possibly life-threatening diseases. Among the most significant diseases that accompany obesity are:
1. Cardiovascular Diseases
Obesity predisposes to hypertension, atherosclerosis, and heart attack. The Indian Heart Association reports the sudden rise in heart disease among Indian women over the last decade obesity being one of the significant causes.
2. Type 2 Diabetes
Obese women are much more likely to develop insulin resistance, a risk factor in itself for type 2 diabetes. India is already “the diabetes capital of the world” and obesity is driving this epidemic.
3. Disorders of Reproduction and Menstruation
PCOS, irregular menses, and infertility are all more common in obese women. Pregnancy complications like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and miscarriage increase with weight.
4. Cancers
Science has identified obesity as having an increased risk for endometrial, ovarian, colon, and breast cancers in females.
5. Mental Health and Self-esteem
Stigma, body shaming, and internalized shame regarding their appearance can result in depression and anxiety. This is a vicious cycle of pain to weight gain.
Social and Economic Consequences
Obesity also has severe social and economic implications:
Higher cost of treating long-term diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
Tolerated impairment of work caused by fatigue, illness, and absence.
Well-being impaired by reduced mobility and physical discomfort.
Obese women are discriminated against in village social gatherings or marriage markets in rural India.
Addressing the Crisis: The Way Forward
1. Public Health Education
Healthy eating, exercise, and women’s health awareness campaigns should be prioritized in rural and urban areas. Health literacy — far too many women are not aware of the long-term health implications of obesity.
2. Fitness Programs to Needs Appropriately
Women over the age of 35 need to do workouts that address their specific needs in strength, endurance, and hormones. The workouts at gyms and mobile apps must be altered for this group.
3. Healthy Eating Promotion
Subsidization of wholesome foods such as millet, fruits, and intact grains can influence the dietary pattern of the population. The government’s Eat Right India movement is in the correct direction but requires mass mobilization.
4. Workplace Interventions
Gym memberships, fitness programs, and routine health check-ups can be provided. Working flexible timings and exercise breaks can also find use.
5. Counseling and Support Groups
Online and offline groups would assist women in supporting one another in their experiences, motivation, and accountability. This service of counselling for mental health has to be included in wellness programs.
6. Government Policies
The government needs to address obesity as an epidemic. Taxes on beverages, labelling of foods in a transparent manner, prohibition of advertisement of unhealthy foods on children’s television hours, and school-based mandatory physical education are long-term effect policy measures.
Case Study: Kerala’s School-based Obesity Prevention Program
Kerala also initiated a state-level school health program named “Our Responsibility to Children” (ORC), whose purpose was to combat obesity in children. It encompasses physical exercise, diet awareness, and family counselling.
Even though the subject was children, the programs can be adapted to women adults by incorporating the following points:
Diet regimens specific to menopause
Men and women walking and yoga clubs on a community level
Regular health check-up camps
Conclusion
Indian women’s obesity after 35 is an epidemic we can no longer afford to ignore. Why it’s so critical isn’t even the statistics but the ripple impact on household health, economic productivity, and prosperity across generations. Women are caregivers in the family and gatekeepers of food — their own well-being has a direct impact on children’s and community health.
To actually make headway, India must embark on a multi-faceted strategy: more awareness, better access to better options, smoothing the process towards lifestyle change, and inculcating the ethos of a more empathetic social conscience towards women’s health.
Empowered, educated, and confident women are the solution. This is not about losing kilos, it is about restoring dignity, vitality, and well-being to lakhs of Indian women.