India's obesity crisis tied to diet more than exercise
According to researchers from various institutions, including the University of Cambridge, Stanford University and Baylor College of Medicine, diet plays a bigger role than physical inactivity when it comes to weight gain.WHAT THE STUDY LOOKED ATThe study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, set out to understand whether obesity is mainly due to people eating too many calories, or because they aren't burning enough of them through activity.The research team, led by Amanda McGrosky, looked at data from over 4,200 adults between ages 18 and 60, across 34 populations on six continents.These included people from a wide range of lifestyles — from hunter-gatherers and farmers to those living in fully industrialised societies.Researchers measured how much energy people spent in total (Total Energy Expenditure or TEE), how much came from basic body functions like breathing and digestion (Basal Energy Expenditure or BEE), and how much was from physical activity (Activity Energy Expenditure or AEE).They also measured body fat and BMI. The participants were grouped based on how economically developed their countries were, using the UN Human Development Index.EXERCISE ISN'T THE MAIN CULPRITAt first glance, people in more developed countries had higher energy use — they were burning more calories in total, including from physical activity.They also had higher body weight and body fat. But that wasn't the whole story.After adjusting for age, sex, and body size, the data showed that people in wealthier nations weren't burning fewer calories from exercise.In fact, their activity energy expenditure (AEE) was slightly higher, not lower. This suggests that lack of physical activity alone isn't driving the obesity crisis in those places.Instead, the study found that total energy expenditure was only weakly linked to obesity, accounting for just about 10% of the rise in obesity in high-income countries.The researchers pointed to another likely reason: the amount of ultra-processed food (UPF) in the diet.advertisementPeople in industrialised societies tend to eat more UPFs — like packaged snacks, sugary drinks, processed meats, and instant meals. These foods were strongly linked to higher body fat.The more UPFs in the diet, the more likely a person was to have a higher body fat percentage.WHY WHAT YOU EAT MATTERS MOREThe researchers believe that the way ultra-processed foods are made — their taste, texture, high calorie content, and appearance — can override natural hunger signals and lead to overeating.Processing also makes it easier for the body to absorb more calories, compared to unprocessed or whole foods.While the study makes clear that exercise still plays an important role in preventing disease and supporting mental health, it highlights that solving the obesity crisis means looking beyond just how much people move.Currently, India ranks third in the highest number of overweight and obese individuals in the world, after the US and China.As rates of obesity have doubled over the past three decades, cardiologist Dr. Sukriti Bhalla at Aakash Healthcare, said how obesity has fast-tracked age in a lot of people."A few years ago, heart attacks struck Indians in their late 50s already a decade younger than Western peers due to genetic predisposition. Today, obesity has dragged that age down to the 30s. It's not just a link. Obesity is turning genetic vulnerability into a giant non-communicable disease burden. Visceral fat disrupts metabolism, clogs arteries, and overloads organs," said Dr. Bhalla.Reducing calories from ultra-processed foods, improving access to whole foods, and better understanding how these products affect our bodies might help address obesity on a global scale.- EndsMust Watch
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