New Delhi, June 30 -- India plans to roll-out a nationwide screening programme for measuring obesity among school children officials aware of the matter said.

Children will be measured for their waist-to-hip ratio (WHR)-a body fat distribution metric calculated by dividing the waist circumference with the hip circumference.

This key metric will be in addition to screening school children for their Body Mass Index (BMI), as part of a plan to prevent India from becoming home to the third-highest global obese population by 2050, after the US and China.

A 2025 Lancet obesity forecasting study projects a staggering rise in overweight and obese adults in India from 180 million in 2021 to an estimated 449 million by 2050. In March, a governme...