Punjabis are the most obese people in the country, Health Minister J P Nadda told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, while men from Tripura and women from Meghalaya are the leanest.

Replying to a question on the prevalence of obesity, a condition when Body Mass Index (BMI) is more than 25, Nadda said diabetes, which is linked to obesity, is seeing a consistent rise with 65, 66.8 and 69.1 million people between 20-79 years of age suffering from it in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Men and women from Punjab followed by Kerala and Delhi are the most obese people with 22.2, 17.8 and 16.8 per cent of men and 29.9, 28.1 and 26.4 per cent of women from respective states reporting a BMI of more than 25.