BWI: 1 out of 2 Urban Indian is Obese, Reveals a Survey by Fitho Wellness

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Fitho
Tuesday, September 17, 2013 02:10 PM IST (08:40 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Food & drink, Lifestyle, People; Business: Business services; Healthcare
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1 out of 2 Urban Indian is Obese, Reveals a Survey by Fitho Wellness


New Delhi, Delhi, India, Tuesday, September 17, 2013 -- (Business Wire India) -- According to the survey conducted by Fitho Wellness, 73% adults in urban India are overweight, and 46% are obese.

The average BMI of the person that signed up was 25.5 that put them in the 'obese' category by BMI standards of the Indian Health ministry. More women were in the healthy BMI range than men.

Almost an equal number of men and women participated in the survey - men at 46%, and women at 54%. The study also showed that there is an equal awareness among men and women regarding their health and weight.

The analysis of the study was based on the individual BMI measurement. Prachi Gupta, CEO of www.Fitho.in, online weight loss diet and co-author of Losing It - Making Weight Loss Simple, on this occasion stated, "Being overweight puts you at higher risk for developing a number of health problems including hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, Heart disease, high blood cholesterol, stroke and some kinds of cancer. Obesity puts you at a much higher risk of these lifestyle diseases."

Almost 1/5th of the men were in the obese 2 category (that is BMI over 30 - extremely obese), putting them at a very high risk of health disorders. Comparatively, only 1/7th of the women were in the obese 2 category.

Almost 12% of the men weighed over 90 kg, with less than 6% women in that weight range. See more data from the survey and infographic at India needs to lose weight.

There was another interesting gender based data which indicated that women are prone to becoming overweight 2 years before men. Average age of overweight women is 30, and for men are 32. Further, women are prone to becoming obese, 5 years before men, at the age of 32. Men typically average obese around 37 years.

Prachi added, "The focus on weight in this study is simply to highlight the risks of lifestyle disorders that may result from it. Obesity can be reversed and managed easily by eating a healthy diet and exercising. It's important to consult a professional before you start a diet to first understand your current health, your body type and what kind of diet will be the most practical & effective for your lifestyle.

People are getting more health conscious and taking more charge of their health. Earlier, mostly women came to lose weight but now we see an upward trend of more men signing up for our weight loss services. Our online service helps men be more comfortable in starting a weight loss diet than actually visiting a weight loss clinic."

Notes:

The survey used Indian BMI guidelines to estimate overweight and obesity in the survey participants.

BMI is supposed to estimate the amount of body fat a person carries based on height and weight, and categorizes people based on what is appropriate for their size. BMI has been put in five categories Underweight (below 18), Healthy (18-22.9), Overweight (23-25), Obese 1 (25-30), and Obese 2 (30+).

This study was conducted on 4000 people that signed up for the healthy diet program.

About Fitho Wellness:

www.Fitho.in is an online weight loss diet plan service - diet plans starting at Rs. 1099, with over 45,000 people that have signed up for the online diet. The website gets over 2 million visitors per year, from over 150 countries. Fitho Wellness also works with organizations to deliver health engagement programs, like Almond Board of California, Saffola, Accu Chek, Vodafone, NDTV and others.

Fitho Wellness was launched in 2010 by Dhruv Gupta and Prachi Gupta. The founders are also authors of book on healthy living, titled - "Losing It - Making Weight Loss Simple", published by Pan MacMillan India.



CONTACT DETAILS
Rahul Sharma, Fitho, +91 8860633501/502, rahul@fitho.in

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, FOOD, LIFESTYLE, PEOPLE, BUSINESS SERVICES, HEALTHCARE

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