Chennai:
India will have maximum number of obese people by 2020, sources from a city-based hospital said.
"Currently India ranks second with 155 million obese citizens, while China has 190 million. If this (trend) continues, the number of obese people living in the country will cross the number of obese people in China by 2020," J S Rajkumar, Chairman, Lifeline Hospitals told reporters on Thursday.
Quoting WHO statistics, he said apart from India and China, there were 42 million obese people living in the US, while in England it stood at 8.8 million. In Sri Lanka and Pakistan there were two million and 23 million obese citizens, respectively, he added.
He said improper food habits and less physical activities were the main reasons for people becoming obese.
In a bid to help people to remain physically fit the hospital started the 'Fight Fat Club' today. "It is a social initiative. The club aims to create a fat free society," he said, adding various topics on special low-calorie diets and counselling would be discussed in the club.
They had planned to conduct awareness camps in schools and colleges in this regard, he said, and added that a website on the club would be launched soon.