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Overnutrition: obesity sheet
10-mark answer frame

Define obesity. Discuss its causes, health consequences and prevention.

How to lay out the answer. Follow the frame, then write it in your own words.

  1. 1 · Open in two lines. Obesity is abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health (WHO). It is the overnutrition side of India's double burden.
  2. 2 · Draw the classification table. [Table: BMI classes, WHO international versus Asian cut-offs; waist 90 cm men, 80 cm women]
  3. 3 · Prevalence. NFHS-5 (2019-21): 24.0% of women and 22.9% of men have a BMI of 25 or more.
  4. 4 · Causes.
    • Energy-dense diet and large portions.
    • Physical inactivity and screen time.
    • Genes, age, hormones (hypothyroidism, PCOS), drugs.
    • Stress, poor sleep, urbanisation.
  5. 5 · Types. Android (apple) and gynoid (pear); explain why abdominal fat is riskier.
  6. 6 · Consequences. Diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, fatty liver, osteoarthritis, PCOS, some cancers, low self-esteem.
  7. 7 · Prevention in the community. ICMR-NIN 2024 diet advice, 150 minutes of activity a week, school programmes, screening at PHCs, Aaj Se Thoda Kam, Fit India.
  8. 8 · Close in one line. Obesity is easier to prevent than to treat: small, lasting changes in food and activity work best.

Scoring tip: Give both the international and the Asian cut-offs in one table and say why India uses the lower ones.