The study titled 'Global, regional, and national prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults during 1980-2013: A systematic analysis for "the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013" used data collected by international bodies and organizations in various countries like India over a period of three decades. The US topped the list with 13 percent of obese people worldwide in 2013, while China and India together accounted for 15 percent of the world's obese population.

According to the study, the number of overweight and obese people  increased from 857 million in 1980 to 2.1 billion in 2013 globally. This is one-third of the world's population.

"In the last three decades, not one country has been successful in reducing obesity rates, and we expect it to rise steadily as incomes rise in low developing countries in particular," said Mr Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) that conducted the analysis for the study.

Mr Pradeep Chowbey, director of the Institute of Minimal Access and Bariatric Surgery at Max Healthcare Institute, said, "If we see the graph of obesity, from 1999 onwards, Indians started gaining weight due to urbanization. There has been gradual economical improvement in our status. The entrance of modern technology and Internet has turned people lazy and stagnant."

According to Dr Prabal Roy, senior bariatric surgeon at the Asian Institute of Medical Science, "India is currently witnessing rising numbers for people in the middle-class who are obese. A lot of the Indian population has started relying on processed foods that contain a huge percentage of trans-fat, sugars, and other unhealthy and artificial ingredients. Obesity is considered the core of many diseases. Increased weight carries significant health risks for some cancers, diabetes, heart diseases and strokes," Mr Roy said.