42 pc of Ahmedabad denizens are overweight: survey

While Kochi takes the top spot on 'bulge' index (46 pc), followed by Bangalore (43 pc), Ahmedabad comes third.

Mumbai-kars, on the other hand, rank lowest, with only 27 per cent of population having weight issues, the AC Nielsen survey commissioned by Johnson & Johnson has found.

"The survey revealed that 42 per cent of the population here weighs above ideal weight," said Dr Mahendra Narwaria, a bariatric surgeon, announcing the findings here today.

"27 per cent are overweight, 12 per cent are obese and 3 per cent are morbidly obese," he said, adding that this was a very "alarming situation" and the city, growing exponentially economically, seemed to be "very careless about the health".

The survey, conducted across Delhi, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Cochin, found that prevalence of morbid obesity is higher in mini-metros.

"This is more alarming for Ahmedabad because prevalence of obesity in women (16 per cent) and men (12 per cent) is higher than national average of 11 and 8 per cent respectively," said Dr Narwaria.

He attributed the rising waistlines of the Ahmedabad residents to oily or fatty food (50 pc), irregular eating habits (44 pc) and lack of physical exercise coupled with sedentary lifestyle (43 pc).

The overweight population was found to be suffering from co-existing conditions such as hypertension (52 pc), heart diseases (45 pc), sleep apnea (39 pc), heart burn (38 pc), joint pains (35 pc).