The number of obese teenagers in India has nearly doubled in the last five years, according to Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda. Quoting new national statistics, Nadda told the Rajya Sabha that 29% of Indians aged between 13 and 18 were obese last year, compared with 16% in 2010. India is the third-most obese country on earth, with more than 3 crore people suffering from obesity and one in every five Indians overweight, according to World Health Organisation data from 2013.
Nadda also expressed concern about a rise in diabetes among people aged 20-79, reported the Associated Press. He said that the National Family Health Survey 2015-16 revealed more than 6.9 crore registered cases, compared with 6.68 crore the previous year and 6.5 crore the year before that. The International Diabetes Foundation has estimated that India could have 12.3 crore cases of diabetes by 2040.
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