The obesity surgery market in India is booming, thanks to 8 per cent population being obese and a surge of foreign patients. That it's a low investment business model has also sparked interest of many corporates, says Sonal Vij.

As India carves its development story, the repercussions of development are penetrating in India as well. Healthcare wise, it is obesity. It is increasingly posing itself as a grave problem in India, just as in many developed countries such as the US and the UK. Though India's obesity level is approximately at 8 per cent as against over 25 per cent in the US and 15 per cent in Europe, the market is still not fully tapped.

According to experts, obesity is more of an urban phenomenon with a prevalence of at least 30-50 per cent general obesity levels and 40-70 per cent abdominal obesity. Indian women are more prone to abdominal obesity as opposed to men. The obesity levels are half or even lesser than these in rural areas.