Health experts have raised alarm over Pakistan’s growing obesity epidemic, revealing that more than 100 million adults are now overweight or obese. They warned that the trend is driving a surge in diabetes, heart disease, and other life-threatening conditions, and without urgent action, the country could face an unprecedented public health disaster.
Experts at Islamabad moot say chronic obesity fuelling alarming rise in diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, and cancers.https://t.co/YoX2RB6gy0
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) September 5, 2025
- Silent crisis: More than 100 million adults in Pakistan are overweight or obese, health experts warned at a conference in Islamabad.
- Rising risks: Specialists linked obesity to an alarming surge in diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, cancers, infertility, and sleep apnea among relatively young Pakistanis.
- Global context: Dr. Waseem Hanif of the University of Birmingham said obesity is “a normal response to an abnormal environment.” He noted that South Asians face higher risks at lower body weights, with the healthy BMI cutoff closer to 23 rather than 25.
- Future threat: Prof. Saleem Qureshi cautioned that if current trends persist, over half of Pakistani children could be obese by age 35, pushing the country into an unprecedented health disaster.
- Call to action: Experts stressed that obesity must be treated as a chronic disease — requiring a mix of medication, lifestyle changes, diet, and exercise guidance. “Exercise does not increase appetite; it reduces it,” Prof. Jamal Zafar reminded.
Why it matters: With obesity fueling Pakistan’s growing burden of non-communicable diseases, health professionals are urging urgent policy attention and public awareness to curb what they describe as a “slow-motion epidemic.”
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