Statsguru: Obesity to diabetes, 6 charts explain health concerns for India

Data released by the government last week showed that the country has made strides in terms of health indicators. The sex ratio has improved, and fertility rate has declined. Coverage of health insurance has also increased compared to 2015-16. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data, however, also shows what ails Indians. The government has undoubtedly made considerable progress in reducing infant mortality by increasing health coverage. Over three-fourth of children in the country were fully vaccinated during 2019-21, compared to 62 per cent in 2015-16, and 43.5 per cent in 2005-06 (chart 1). But the analysis shows that more people are suffering from diseases such as anaemia, hypertension and diabetes.

Data shows that obesity is increasingly growing among both men and women. Nearly a quarter of both men and women were obese as per the new survey, compared to a fifth of adults five years ago (chart 2). Over half of the women surveyed were anaemic, whereas only 22 per cent of men had anaemia. Among children aged 6-59 months, two-thirds of the population had anaemia (chart 3). Incidences of hypertension and diabetes have also increased. While only 8.8 per cent of women had hypertension in 2015-16, nearly 21.3 per cent are now facing this problem. The ratio for men has almost doubled from 13.5 per cent to 24 per cent (chart 4). The incidence of diabetes has increased more in women than men. Although more men reported high blood sugar (15.6 per cent) than women (13.5 per cent), in 2015-16, only 8.6 per cent women had reported high blood sugar against 11.9 per cent of men (chart 5). 

Reporting of disease has become better, but gaps remain. Only 1.9 per cent of women aged 30-49 had undergone a screening test for cervical cancer, 0.8 per cent for breast cancer, and 0.9 per cent had undergone oral cancer screening. The ratios in rural areas, at 1.7, 0.7 and 0.9 per cent, respectively, were much lower (chart 6). The government has its task cut out for the coming years.

StatsGuru is a weekly feature. Every Monday, Business Standard guides you through the numbers you need to know to make sense of the headlines; National Family Health Survey 5 (2019-2021)