The alarming rise of medicalisation in India

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India as we speak faces a mounting burden of weight problems and related metabolic circumstances similar to diabetes, hypertension, fatty liver illness, and dyslipidaemia.
| Photograph Credit score: Getty Pictures/iStockphoto

The current announcement by Air India, hinting at potential pay cuts and even de-rostering for crew members with a better Physique Mass Index (BMI), could, at first look, seem like a prudent and well-intentioned step towards making certain health and operational security. Aviation, in any case, is a occupation the place bodily readiness is crucial. But, the timing of this resolution —coinciding with the week an anti-obesity drug, semaglutide, went off patent and almost 40 merchandise entered the Indian market— alerts one thing deeper.

India as we speak faces a mounting burden of weight problems and related metabolic circumstances similar to diabetes, hypertension, fatty liver illness, and dyslipidaemia. Almost 1 / 4 of Indians are obese or overweight. One in 10 adults stay with diabetes, one in three with hypertension, and a considerable proportion has fatty liver illness. Much more regarding is the speedy rise of weight problems amongst youngsters. The causes, that are neither obscure nor debated, embody the proliferation of ultra-processed or excessive fats, salt and sugar-content meals, and more and more sedentary existence formed by city work patterns, shrinking open areas, power stress, alcohol consumption, and insufficient sleep. Compounding it is a genetic predisposition amongst Indians and South Asians towards extra physique fats regardless of a seemingly lean look — the so-called “thin-fat” phenotype.

Printed – April 15, 2026 02:04 am IST