Age- and sex-specific trends in obesity and overweight in India, 2000–2024: Analysis of WHO modeled national estimates

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Obesity is an important risk factor for noncommunicable diseases, but long-term age- and sex-specific trends in India remain incompletely described. Objectives: The aim of this study is to describe age- and sex-specific temporal trends in obesity and overweight among children, adolescents, and adults in India using World Health Organization (WHO) modeled national estimates from 2000 to 2024. Materials and Methods: A descriptive secondary analysis was conducted using annual WHO modeled national estimates from the Global Health Observatory body mass index indicator files for India. Obesity and overweight prevalence estimates were analyzed for children aged 5–9 years, adolescents aged 10–19 years, and adults aged ≥18 years. The average annual percentage change (APC) was calculated using log-linear regression as a descriptive summary of modeled temporal trends. Sex-specific obesity point estimates and their WHO-reported 95% uncertainty intervals were compared descriptively across the age groups. Results: Adult obesity increased from 1.74% in 2000 to 8.01% in 2024, while childhood obesity increased from 0.67% to 5.49% and adolescent obesity from 0.33% to 3.25%. The descriptive APC was the highest for adolescents, followed by children and adults: 9.61%, 8.79%, and 6.52% per year, respectively. WHO modeled point estimates in 2024 suggested higher obesity prevalence among boys than girls in children and adolescents, whereas adult women had higher modeled prevalence than men. Conclusion: WHO modeled national estimates indicated increasing obesity and overweight prevalence across all three age groups. Adults showed the largest absolute prevalence increases, whereas children and adolescents showed larger relative increases from lower baseline values.