One in two women overweight in several Punjab districts, says NFHS-6

Punjab Newsline | Chandigarh

Nearly one in every two women in several Punjab districts is now overweight or obese, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) 2023-24, raising concerns over the growing burden of lifestyle-related health issues in the state.

The survey found that 44.7% of women aged 15-49 years in Punjab are overweight or obese, up from 40.8% recorded in NFHS-5. The trend is also visible among men, with 37.5% falling into the overweight or obese category compared to 32.3% in the previous survey.

At the district level, Patiala reported the highest proportion of overweight or obese women at 50.2%, followed by Hoshiarpur at 50% and Fatehgarh Sahib at 49.5%. Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar recorded 47.8%, while Ludhiana and Rupnagar reported 47.7% and 47%, respectively.

NFHS-6 report also highlighted a rise in tobacco consumption. Around 13.9% of men aged 15 years and above use tobacco in some form, compared to 12.8% in NFHS-5. Among women, tobacco use remains low at 0.5%, with Moga reporting the highest female tobacco consumption rate.

Alcohol consumption among men has also increased marginally. The survey found that 22.9% of men consume alcohol, compared to 22.8% in the previous survey. Faridkot recorded the highest rate of alcohol consumption among men at 28.1%, while Rupnagar topped the list among women with 0.9%.

Conducted across 19,616 households in Punjab’s 22 districts, NFHS-6 covered 20,135 women and 3,160 men. Public health experts say the findings underline the urgent need for awareness campaigns promoting healthy diets, physical activity, and preventive healthcare to tackle the state's rising obesity and lifestyle disease burden.