COLOMBO, March 2 (Xinhua) -- There has been a significant increase in the number of overweight and obese individuals in Sri Lanka, according to a health expert.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Shanthi Gunawardana, a community medicine specialist at the non-communicable disease unit of the Health Ministry, said that a person who is overweight is more at risk of getting a non-communicable disease.
She said that in 2015, 22.5 percent of Sri Lankan men were overweight and obese, and according to the 2021 survey, this amount has increased to 30 percent.
Gunawardana said that 34 percent of Sri Lankan women were overweight and obese in 2015, and by 2021, the number of overweight and obese women reached 48 percent.
Gunawardana said that most Sri Lankans live a sedentary lifestyle and consume more calories than they need. ■