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India Today
18-07-2025
- Health
- India Today
More than one in four couples in India are overweight or obese: ICMR study
A new study from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the country's top medical panel, has revealed rising obesity levels among married couples in India, highlighting that more than one in four couples (27.4%) are both overweight or on data from over 52,737 married couples as part of the NFHS-5 (2019–21), this is one of the largest investigations of spousal weight trends conducted in the study, led by ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, draws attention to what experts are calling "spousal concordance" in obesity, a situation where both partners mirror each other's unhealthy weight status. A SHARED JOURNEY TO WEIGHT GAINThe findings, published in Current Developments in Nutrition, suggest that couples are unknowingly reinforcing each other's unhealthy it's shared meals high in calories, late-night snacking, sedentary routines, or bonding over food, lifestyle choices often become aligned in a marriage.'From what we eat to how much we move, partners tend to mimic each other's behaviours,' noted the ICMR urban couples appear to be most study found that 27.4% of married couples in India are both overweight or obese. This means that more than one in four couples share a similar weight status, which is often the result of shared habits and lifestyle trend was seen more commonly among wealthier couples, especially those in the richest income group, where nearly 47.6% of couples were overweight or obese. Couples living in urban areas also showed a high rate of weight gain together, with 38.4% of city-based couples numbers were higher among couples living in nuclear families (28.9%) and those who were of similar age (28.8%) or had the same level of education (31.4%). Couples who were not doing paid work also showed a higher chance of being overweight together (33.9%).Media habits also seemed to play a role. Couples who regularly read newspapers (39.6%) or watched television (32.8%) had a higher risk of shared obesity. Similarly, eating habits mattered too, couples who ate non-vegetarian food like eggs (30.7%) and chicken (29.9%) every week were more likely to be overweight or the highest rates of overweight couples were found in the southern (37.2%) and northern (33.5%) parts of the country. States like Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Delhi, Goa, Tamil Nadu, and Punjab had the highest rates—more than 42% of couples in these states were overweight or researchers also found that some groups had a significantly higher risk of spousal obesity. These included couples from rich households, those living in urban areas, and those from certain religious eating certain foods regularly, such as eggs (14%), fish (25%), chicken (9%), fried foods (6%), and especially alcohol (98%)—was strongly linked to both partners gaining excess THAN JUST LIFESTYLEWhile diet and physical inactivity are major contributors, cultural and economic forces also play a Siri M Kamath, Consultant in Internal Medicine at Gleneagles BGS Hospital, Bengaluru, told that overweight is still often associated with prosperity and good health, especially in older mindsets. 'Being slim is sometimes wrongly viewed as a sign of weakness,' said Dr. staples like rice and wheat are heavily subsidised through the public distribution system, while vegetables and protein-rich pulses remain less accessible.'This makes carbs more affordable and, unfortunately, more dominant in Indian meals,' the expert obesity being a risk factor for Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, infertility, and even certain cancers, the implications go far beyond appearance—they impact India's long-term health and COUPLE-BASED INTERVENTIONS MATTERThe ICMR researchers recommend a shift in how obesity is tackled in India. Rather than focusing on individuals, interventions should address couples and households, especially those in urban, affluent, and media-exposed concordance in overweight and obesity is strongly influenced by shared socioeconomic status, lifestyle behaviours, and dietary patterns,' the authors wrote. 'Public health strategies should prioritise couple-based interventions, especially among high-risk subgroups.'With over 27.4% of married couples now falling into the overweight or obese category, India must act fast, not just to treat obesity, but to prevent it from becoming a household epidemic.- EndsMust Watch
Indian Express
16-07-2025
- Health
- Indian Express
ICMR study finds one in four Indian married couples is obese: Why shared habits are pushing young Indians over the curve
When they had married, Mumbai-based Sulabha and Jatin Deshpande had varied tastes in food and lifestyle — she liked home-cooked, mostly vegetarian food. He liked Mediterranean-style salads. She was an early riser, he was a late sleeper. But as they settled into their marriage and the stress of commute and a hectic work life got to them, they chose common ground — click-a-meal on weekdays, fast food, binges, late night presentations on laptops and lounge leisure on weekends. They negotiated the two most important markers of a fit body — sleep and physical activity. Both are now grossly overweight at 33. From shared meals to mimicking habits, married couples are unwittingly triggering each other's weight gain, according to a new ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research)-led study. As a result, at least one in four Indian married couples is now overweight or obese. Alarming rates of obesity were observed in couples under 30, compelling study authors to make a strong case for implementing couple-based interventions in urban, wealthy, media-exposed households and couples in states like Kerala, Manipur, Delhi and Goa and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. That's because the highest couple obesity rates are in Kerala (51.3 per cent), Jammu and Kashmir (48.5 per cent), Manipur (47.9 per cent), Delhi (47.1 per cent), Goa (45 per cent), Tamil Nadu (42.7 per cent) and Punjab (42.5 per cent). Why is this study significant? The study was conducted by researchers from ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, TERI School of Advanced Studies and other institutions. Researchers analysed data from 52,737 married couples across India – from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5 2019-21), making it the largest study in the country. They found that 27.4 per cent of couples exhibit concordance in their obesity status, with significantly higher rates among urban, affluent, and media-exposed households. Published in 'Current Developments in Nutrition', the study represents the first nationwide examination of spousal weight concordance in India. In the study, couples with a body mass index (BMI, which is obtained by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by the square of their height in metres) equal to 23 were categorised as overweight or obese. Findings showed that nearly half (47.6 per cent) of the couples in the richest wealth quintile showed similar overweight/obesity profiles compared to just 10.2 per cent in the poorest quintile. The urban-rural divide Urban couples had higher rates of concordance (38.4 per cent) compared to rural couples (22.1 per cent). The risk of uniform habits was 4.3 times higher among the wealthiest couples compared to the poorest. According to Dr Shalini Singh, senior author from ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention, what makes this study particularly significant is how it reveals the geographic and demographic patterns of India's obesity epidemic through the lens of married couples. 'The stark contrasts – from Kerala's 51.3 per cent couple obesity to the much lower rates in eastern states – mirror India's uneven development trajectory. Our research demonstrates that marriage and a shared living environment can be powerful vectors for both the spread of obesity and, potentially, its prevention. This calls for a paradigm shift from individual-focussed interventions to household and community-based approaches that recognise obesity as a socially transmitted condition,' says Dr Singh. How two different people end up having similar health profiles Married couples are typically not genetically related, yet show similarity in health conditions, be it obesity, hypertension and smoking habits. 'This happens because of a shared lifestyle, diet, socio-economic status, environmental exposure and even emotional aspects,' says Dr Prashant Kumar Singh, lead author and corresponding author from ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research. The commonest shared behavioural and lifestyle factors have been television watching (32.8 per cent of couples), newspaper reading (39.6 per cent concordance), reduced time for physical activities and dependence on processed and ultra-processed foods. Family structure and living arrangements also had an impact on aligning couple behaviour, according to Dr Singh. Nuclear families show 28.9 per cent versus 25.9 per cent concordance in joint families. Nuclear families end up consuming processed and ultra processed foods while joint families, which benefit from shared responsibilities and support systems, have healthier eating habits and more active lifestyles. Overweight couples with similar education levels comprise 31.4 per cent of the pie, educational similarity between spouses clearly aligning habits in food consumption and physical activity. Alarming pattern among under-30 couples Dr Singh says the findings are deeply concerning, given the significant similar obesity patterns among couples under 30 years of age. Kerala shows the highest concordance among young couples at 42.8 per cent, Goa is at 37 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir is at 31.6 per cent and Tamil Nadu is at 29.6 per cent. 'These figures suggest that obesity-related metabolic dysfunction is beginning much earlier in life. This predisposes young couples to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions in their most productive years. The 4.3-fold higher risk among wealthy couples compared to the poorest reveals how India's nutrition transition is paradoxically creating new health burdens alongside economic prosperity. We urgently need couple-based interventions that target a shared lifestyle environment, particularly in urban, affluent communities where processed food consumption and sedentary lifestyles are becoming normalized,' says Dr Singh. What about other states? The moderate concordance states include Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana and Uttarakhand, all in the 25-35 per cent range, while the lower concordance states were the eastern and northeastern states, generally showing 19-22 per cent concordance. Anuradha Mascarenhas is a journalist with The Indian Express and is based in Pune. A senior editor, Anuradha writes on health, research developments in the field of science and environment and takes keen interest in covering women's issues. With a career spanning over 25 years, Anuradha has also led teams and often coordinated the edition. ... Read More
