Indians are getting fatter and more unhealthy as they move away from a traditional vegetarian diet
The prevalence of overweight/obesity in India - where most people used to be on a primarily plant-based diet - has exploded in recent years as people have shifted to a more western diet (more meat, refined carbohydrates, sugar), said Dr Pramil Singh, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Population Medicine at Loma Linda University.
Indeed, if you use the World Health Organization's definition of obesity for Asian populations (BMI: 25+), more than 46% of urban adults in India are obese, compared with 35.7% of Americans (who are considered obese with a BMI of 30+), he said. "Around 70-80% of 36-year-old new urbanites in India are overweight or obese by the WHO definition [The WHO says for an Asian population, a BMI of 23+ is overweight; and 25+ is obese] while rural areas are fast playing catch up."