Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing a growing obesity burden, with more than one in three women aged 15–49 now classified as overweight or obese, while obesity is also being reported among children and adolescents.
According to the sixth National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6), released by the Union Health Ministry in May this year, 36.7 percent of women and 27.1 percent of men aged 15–49 in J&K are overweight or obese. At the national level, the corresponding figures are 30.7 percent for women and 27.3 percent for men.
The survey also found that 3.5 percent of girls and 2.6 percent of boys aged 5–17 in J&K are obese, pointing to an emerging health concern that extends beyond adulthood.
The findings were discussed at the recent JK Obesity Summit, held as part of MMFDIACON-2026 in Srinagar, where experts warned that obesity can no longer be viewed solely as a matter of individual lifestyle choices.
Prof SM Saleem Khan, former Head of the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, said the growing prevalence of obesity was being driven by an “obesogenic environment” in which unhealthy food choices have become increasingly accessible and affordable, while opportunities for physical activity have declined.
He said the availability, affordability and aggressive marketing of ultra-processed and calorie-dense foods, combined with sedentary lifestyles, increased screen time, dependence on transport and changing urban environments, were influencing both food consumption and physical activity.
“The food choices have no longer remained confined to individual willpower or lifestyle choices,” Khan said, pointing to the influence of food availability, affordability, marketing, urban design and screen time on consumption patterns.
He said socioeconomic conditions were also contributing to the risk of overweight and obesity. In J&K, changing food habits are intersecting with rapid urbanisation and increasingly sedentary routines, creating an environment where people are encouraged to choose food that is readily available and requires little effort to consume, while spending more time sitting and using screens.
Khan said obesity could not be addressed through clinical treatment alone.
“Obesity is a problem that clinics alone can’t fix,” he said, arguing that no healthcare system could “treat its way out” of an epidemic continuously reinforced by everyday environments.
He said food systems in which energy-dense, ultra-processed foods are cheaper and more heavily marketed than fresh produce were creating a significant health hazard.
Khan proposed a “Preventive Health Clinic” model based in primary care to identify obesity risks at an early stage through body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and basic metabolic screening.
Such clinics, he said, could prescribe individualised interventions covering diet, physical activity, sleep and behavioural change, while also involving families and ensuring regular follow-up.
A single consultation could not address a problem that had grown to a scale capable of affecting the wider healthcare delivery system, he said.
Khan called for a policy roadmap that explicitly recognises obesity as a public-health priority. He said obesity screening should be incorporated into monitoring under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD).
He also called for preventive health clinics at primary health centres and medical colleges, routine BMI and waist measurements as part of health check-ups across the life course, and the integration of obesity prevention into school health programmes.
Urban planning also needs to become part of the response, he said, calling for greater investment in walkable infrastructure and stronger regulation of the availability and marketing of unhealthy foods.
