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NEW DELHI: Punjabis are the most obese people in the country, while men from Tripura and women from Meghalaya are the leanest, health minister JP Nadda told Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

According to the 2005-06 National Family Health Survey, the overall prevalence of obesity and diabetes have shown a consistent rise with 65, 66.8 and 69.1 million people between 20-79 years of age suffering from it in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

The National Family Health Survey data assumes significance because India is already the third most obese country in the world and is showing increasing incidence of obesity among children and adolescents, mainly the in urban areas.

Latest estimates show that prevalence of obesity among adolescents (13-18 years) has grown from 16% to 29% over the last five years.

According to data presented by Nadda, men and women from Punjab followed by Kerala and Delhi are the most obese people with 22.2%, 17.8% and 16.8% of men and 29.9%, 28.1% and 26.4% of women from the respective states reporting a body mass index (BMI) of more than 25.

Data also show women everywhere, except Bihar and Meghalaya, are more overweight than men.

In Tripura, only 4.8% of men and 7.1% of women are obese while in Meghalaya, only 5.9% men and 5.3% women are overweight.

