Dramatic Rise in Overweight and Obesity Rates Among Delhi-NCR Millennials, Study Reveals, ETHealthworld
New Delhi: More than 50 per cent of millennials are found to be overweight or obese, as per a study comprising of 4000 individuals across Delhi-NCR.
The study by Pacific OneHealth Hospitals assessed participants across 20 key metabolic health parameters, including body composition, visceral fat, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, metabolic rate and cardiovascular indicators.
The report found that obesity and hypertension increased with age, revealing a clear progression of metabolic disease beginning in early adulthood and accelerating sharply in the later years.
Among those surveyed, only 8.5 per cent of Gen Z participants showed elevated visceral fat. However, this figure climbed to 27.6 per cent among millennials and surged to 70.8 per cent among adults aged 45 and above.
A similar trend was seen in hypertension prevalence, which increased dramatically from 7.3 per cent among millennials to 46.9 per cent among GenX and above participants, representing a 6.4-fold jump after the age of 45.
Researchers identified the 30-44 age group as the most critical intervention window. This is the window when “obesity and visceral fat accumulation rise sharply, creating the foundation for future hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” the study said.
It added that metabolic consequences become significantly more difficult and expensive to reverse when individuals cross the age of 45.
Over 50 per cent of all participants screened had abnormal BMI levels, while one-third showed elevated visceral fat, underscoring the growing burden of obesity and lifestyle-related disorders in urban India.
“What is particularly concerning is that the progression from overweight to visceral fat accumulation and eventually hypertension follows a remarkably predictable pattern. Yet our healthcare system largely engages with people only after disease has manifested. The future of healthcare must move beyond treatment and embrace proactive metabolic risk detection, personalised wellness planning and continuous preventive care,” said Dr. Swadeep Srivastava, Co-Founder and President, Pacific OneHealth Hospitals.
