The fabled Punjabi prosperity is virtually being reflected in the bodies of men and women in the state.
More than 38 per cent of women and 30 per cent of men in Punjab are reported to be obese. The  women are not only obese but also anaemic, according to the National Family Health Survey report.

Obesity has been rising among the state’s populace by one per cent every year since 1998-99, the survey points out. The prevalence of obesity among women is directly related to the increasing sedentary lifestyle.
Some years ago, people who conducted a local survey in Punjab, studied obesity among college-going girls above 18 years and found that over 43 per cent of them were obese. Besides, there is increasing incidence of obesity even among children in the state.

In fact, worried at the trend, a group of medical practitioners, industrialists, professionals and educationists recently launched an NGO, “Association for the Study of Obesity (ASO)” to fight the growing menace. 
“The association aims at educating people on the alarming problems caused by obesity,” said Dr N C Raina, its convenor.

It has been found that the Punjabi women are not only obese but also anaemic.
The incidence of anaemia is as high as 38 per cent among women in the 15-49 year age group.
Another worrying fact  is the incidence of anaemia among children in the age group of six months to three years. Eighty per cent of children in this age group have been reported to be anaemic.