More than half of the country’s population is overweight or faces obesity, which is making a majority of the people vulnerable to multiple diseases and health complications that could prove fatal, says a study conducted by an official research body.
Officials and experts who helped write the report about a recent survey conducted by the Pakistan Health Research Council said the fresh data showed alarming trends in society, where not only adults but children too were fast becoming patients of obesity-linked diseases.
According to the WHO [World Health Organisation] 58.1 per cent people of Pakistan are overweight and 43.9 per cent of population is suffering from obesity. Similarly, according to the Asian cutoffs, 72.3 per cent people of Pakistan are overweight and 58.1 per cent of the population is suffering from obesity. These are fresh figures suggesting an alarming trend
Should Pakistanis start taking notice of their health?
Health professionals and practitioners saw the study as a “wakeup call” and called for promoting healthy lifestyle including importance of daily exercise, consumption of healthy food and educating young children about the need for taking part in physical activity and avoiding junk food.