More than 43 lakh children in the 0-5 age group were identified as obese or overweight last month, accounting for around six per cent of the total children surveyed at anganwadi centres across the country, according to official data.
The data collected from the government-run rural child care centres also showed that the percentage of obese or overweight children was almost the same as that of severely and moderately malnourished children found in anganwadis — six per cent.
Out of the 7,24,56,458 children “measured” in the 0-5 years age category, approximately six per cent or 43,47,387 children, were classified as obese or overweight, showed the data collated from growth monitoring app 'Poshan Tracker'.
Thirteen states and union territories, including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal, exhibit obesity rates surpassing the national average of six per cent, it showed. Childhood obesity has exhibited a concerning upward trend in recent years.
There has been a notable increase in the percentage of children under five years of age who are overweight in NFHS-5 compared to NFHS-4, according to data from the NHFS-4 (2015-16) and the NFHS-5 (2019-21).
Before the 'Poshan Tracker', started in 2021, data was collected under the National Family Health Survey (NFHS).
In the NFHS-5, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir recorded the highest percentages of overweight children under five years of age, followed closely by Sikkim and Tripura. In contrast, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh reported the lowest percentages of overweight children under five years of age.
Every state, except Tamil Nadu and Goa, has witnessed an increase in the percentage of overweight children under five years of age in the NFHS-5 when compared to the NFHS-4, according to data from the surveys.