Big increase in overweight and obese people in SL since 2015

By Rathindra Kuruwita

There had been a significant increase in the number of overweight and obese individuals in Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Health said on Thursday.

Addressing the media at the Health Promotion Bureau regarding World Obesity Prevention Day, Dr. Shanthi Gunawardene, a community medicine specialist at the non-communicable disease unit of the Ministry, said that a person who was overweight was more at risk of being afflicted with non-communicable diseases.She said that in 2015, 22.5 percent of Sri Lankan men were overweight and obese and according to the 2021 survey, the number had increased to 30 percent.Dr. Gunawardene said 34 percent of Sri Lankan women were overweight and obese in 2015.By 2021, the number of overweight and obese women had reached 48 percent, she said.

The theme of this year’s World Obesity Prevention Day is “Changing Perspectives: Let’s talk about obesity”.

Dr. Gunawardene said that most Sri Lankans led a sedentary lifestyle and consumed more calories than necessary.