National Institute of Nutrition increases Ideal weight for Men and Women

The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) has increased the average body weight for Indians by 5kg in its recent report. Thus, the average weight for Indian men has been increased from the 60kg in 2010 to 65kg now. While for Indian women average weight has been increased from 50kg in 2010 to 55kg now.

Key Facts

• Along with the change in the average weight, the NIN has also revised the heights.
• The average height for Indian men is 5.8 feet (177 cm)
• And the average height for women is 5.3 feet (162 cm).
• Earlier, the average heights for men was 5.6 feet (171cm) and for women was 5 feet (152 cm).
• These revised weight and height for both men and women will now be taken into consideration for the calculation of normal body mass index (BMI).
• The definition of a reference Indian adult with respect to age has also been changed to 19-39 years. Earlier it used to be 20-39 years.

Report covering the wider population

The 2020 panel have derived the body weight and height values using data taken from all over India. It also include the:

1. Data from National Family Health Survey 4 of 2015-2016,
2. Data from the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau for 2015-2016
3. Data as per the WHO report of 2006 to 2007, and
4. Data from the Indian Academy of Paediatrics of 2015.

Why these changes have been made?

The decision to revise the average height and weight was taken because of increased intake of nutritional food. For deciding on weight and height,  data from the rural as well as the urban areas was taken into account. Earlier,  in 2010 data unlike only urban data was used.

Recommended dietary allowance (RDA)

NIN has also revised its recommended dietary allowance (RDA) and estimated average requirement (EAR) of nutrition in the 2020 report. The ICMR expert committee has recommended fibre-based energy intake for the first time .They stated that 40 grams per 2000 kilocalories of food consumption are safe. Other recommendations include:

• Fat intake for individuals with sedentary, moderate, and heavy activities has been set to 25, 30, and 40 grams per day for men, and 20, 25, and 30 grams per day for women respectively.  In 2010, fat intake for both men and women were common.
• Carbohydrates intake has been suggested as 100 grams to 130 grams per day for one-year-old and above.
• Intake limit for common salt or iodine has been kept same at 5 grams per day.