Goa among most obese states in country: National Family Health Survey

Margao: Nearly half of Goa’s population is now overweight or obese, a sharp rise that underscores the state’s deepening lifestyle disease burden. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) 2023-24, released by the Union ministry of health and family welfare, states that 43.6% of men and 45.1% of women in Goa have a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0kg/m² or above, against national averages of 27.3% for men and 30.7% for women. In NFHS-5 (2019-21), the corresponding figures stood at 32.6% for men and 36.1% for women, indicating a steep upward trend.

The obesity surge is accompanied by equally concerning data on blood sugar. As per the survey, 32.1% of men and 27.5% of women in Goa have blood sugar levels above 140mg/dl or are taking medication to control blood sugar—far exceeding national averages of 20.9% for men and 17.8% for women. Goa’s 32.1% prevalence among men is the highest in the country, with Kerala following closely at 31.9%. Kerala, however, reported marginally higher levels among women at 28.9%, against Goa’s 27.5%. In NFHS-5, the corresponding figures for Goa stood at 24.1% for men and 20.8% for women—an increase of eight percentage points among men and nearly seven percentage points among women in just a few years.

On hypertension, 27.5% of men in Goa have elevated blood pressure or are on medication to control it, against a national average of 22.1%. Among women, 26.2% report elevated blood pressure or are on medication, against the national figure of 19.4%. In NFHS-5, the corresponding figures for Goa were 26.8% for men and 27.5% for women—suggesting women’s hypertension has remained largely static.

Goa’s caesarean section rate stands at 46.2% of all births—among the highest in the country and sharply higher than the national average of 27.2%. In private health facilities, the rate climbs to 69.7%, against a national average of 54.1% for private facilities. In NFHS-5, Goa’s overall C-section rate was 39.5%, indicating a further rise of nearly seven percentage points.

Against these concerns, Goa’s maternal and child health indicators remain among the strongest in the country. Institutional births stand at 99.6%. Around 92.1% of mothers had their antenatal check-up in the first trimester, well above the national average of 76.2%. Full vaccination coverage for children aged 12-23 months reached 93.8%, up from 81.9% in the previous survey.

Child malnutrition has also declined measurably. The proportion of children under five who are stunted dropped to 19.4% from 25.8% in NFHS-5, and the severely wasted fell from 7.5% to 2.4%.

The survey also captures Goa’s sharpening demographic ageing. Those aged 60 and above now constitute 17.2% of Goa’s population, up from 14.2% in NFHS-5.

On gender indicators, Goa shows a mixed picture. The proportion of ever-married women who reported experiencing spousal violence rose to 11.3%, up from 8.3% in NFHS-5. Alcohol consumption among men has, however, dropped sharply — from 36.8% in NFHS-5 to 22.4% in NFHS-6. The total fertility rate in Goa stands at 1.6 children per woman, with a rural rate of 1.8 compared to an urban rate of 1.4.