South Indian Women's Obesity Is Highlighted By The National Family Health Survey
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According to a statistical report on the obesity status of women in the southern states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, women are more overweight or obese than males are nationwide as well as in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
Even though the incidence is slightly lower in Karnataka and Telangana, both men's and women's levels are higher in all of the southern states than the national average. The National Family Health Survey's BMI data were utilised for the study in the bulletin, which was published by the Council for Social Development in Hyderabad. Women between the ages of 15 and 49 were recruited for the study from 120 districts in southern India, including 31 in Telangana, 30 in Karnataka, 13 in Andhra Pradesh, 14 in Kerala, and 32 in Tamil Nadu.
The study also found that Christians (31.2%) have a high prevalence of overweight/obesity at the national level. The frequency is more than or close to one-fourth among Muslim and Hindu women. However, in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Telangana, the prevalence is higher among Muslims.
Higher than the national average, the southern states have high rates of overweight/obesity among metropolitan women. With almost one-fourth of women in the highest wealth category being reported to be overweight or obese in Karnataka and Telangana, compared to one-third or more in the other south Indian states, the incidence in rural regions is also significantly higher than the national average.
When comparing information on the prevalence of overweight/obesity among women from the National Family Health Survey-4 and 5, the researchers discovered a few surprising things. It rose by 3.3% nationally, and the southern states also have a pattern that is consistent with this growth. Tamil Nadu saw the largest growth (by 9.5%), followed closely by Karnataka and Kerala (6.9% and 5.7%, respectively), while Telangana saw the smallest increase (2%).