Subhechcha Ganguly 
According to data from the fifth and most recent wave of the National Family Health Survey, expanding waistlines are a major public health concern for both Americans and Indians, who have been getting heavier over the past 15 years (NFHS). According to a research by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), one in nine Indians will develop cancer at some point in their lives. Both the incidence and mortality rate of cancer are on the rise in India as well. According to the study, one in 68 males and one in 29 women will acquire breast cancer respectively.
13 distinct forms of cancer can arise as a result of obesity. Obese or very obese individuals are 1.5 to 4 times more likely to acquire cancers such esophageal, thyroid, stomach, liver, pancreatic, colorectal, gallbladder, and kidney.
Approximately 6.4% of women and 4% of males between the ages of 15 and 49 are obese, according to the fifth round of the NFHS, which was conducted between 2019 and 2021.In the same age range, 17.6% of women and 18.9% of men are overweight but not obese.
This indicates that almost a fifth of men and a little over a fourth of young women in India are overweight or obese. Given that India is experiencing an obesity pandemic with approximately 7 crore individuals impacted by morbid obesity, the link between obesity and cancer is concerning.According to a 2015 ICMR-INDIAB study, central obesity prevalence rates in India range from 16 to 36% and from 12 to 30% overall. By 2030, 2.7 crore children in India are expected to be obese, according to UNICEF’s World Obesity Atlas 2022.
