Naina Mishra Tribune News Service Chandigarh January 11 The city has reported the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity and the second highest prevalence of cardiovascular diseases among older adults (aged 45 years and above) in the country according to the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The overall prevalence of overweight/obesity among older adults in India is 28 per cent. “Around half of the older population of Chandigarh (56 per cent) Delhi (53 per cent) and Punjab (49 per cent) is either overweight or obese” said the study. The prevalence of obesity among the elderly (60 years and above) is higher in Chandigarh (22 per cent) than Delhi (18 per cent) followed by Puducherry (15 per cent) and Daman & Diu (15 per cent). Prof JS Thakur from the School of Community Medicine and Public Health PGI said: “In our recently published studies we found that there is a high prevalence of sedentary lifestyle in Chandigarh as people are less involved in physical activities which is contributing to obesity and heart-related problems among older adults. Another factor is the transition from traditional foods to fast foods.” The mean body mass index (BMI) among the elderly men is higher than 23 in Delhi (24.3) followed by Lakshadweep (24) and Chandigarh (23.8). Among the older adult women the mean BMI ranges from 27.5 in Chandigarh to 21 in Chhattisgarh. Among the elderly women the mean BMI is in the overweight category (BMI >25) in Chandigarh (26.8) followed by Delhi (26) and Daman & Diu (25.4). As per the report the self-reported prevalence of diagnosed cardiovascular diseases among older adults is the highest in Kerala (43.3 per cent) and the second highest in Chandigarh (42.7 per cent). More than half of the elderly in Goa (58 per cent) reported that they have been diagnosed with hypertension followed by Kerala (53 per cent) and Chandigarh (50 per cent). Chandigarh has also been ranked fifth to report the higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (25%) among the elderly. A higher proportion of the elderly has been diagnosed with multi-morbidity in Kerala (52 per cent) Chandigarh (41 per cent) and Lakshadweep (40 per cent).

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