New Delhi, May 18 -- Urging people to lose weight gradually, ICMR in its recently released set of guidelines recommended a balanced diet to weight loss aspirants and asked them not to lose weight rapidly or take anti-obesity drugs.(Also read: Overheating non-stick cookware risky, say ICMR guidelines, here's how to safely use them)

In its guideline 9 titled - Adopt a healthy lifestyle to prevent abdominal obesity, overweight and overall obesity, ICMR guidelines discussed strategies to minimize chances of overall obesity and abdominal obesity to prevent lifestyle diseases. BMI ranging from 23 to 27.5 Kg is defined as overweight as per Asian cut-off. Over 30% of urban and 16% of rural adults are overweight. (Also read: ICMR says repeated he...