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AIIMS Obesity Clinic Sees Massive Surge As India Confronts Rising Weight Crisis
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News18•06-10-2026, 10:38
AIIMS Obesity Clinic Sees Massive Surge As India Confronts Rising Weight Crisis
- •The obesity clinic at AIIMS New Delhi has registered 14,000 patients since opening in October 2017, growing from just 100 in its first year to over 2,300 in 2024 alone.
- •The multidisciplinary clinic provides holistic care with nutritionists, physiotherapists, psychiatrists, bariatric surgeons, and metabolic physicians working together.
- •Falling prices of generic semaglutide have recently allowed more patients from economically weaker backgrounds to access advanced GLP-1 obesity medications.
- •Other public institutions are following suit, with Gujarat opening free obesity clinics in civil hospitals and Hyderabad launching a Comprehensive Obesity Clinic at NIMS.
- •Public health experts emphasize the urgent need for workforce training, early prevention, and stricter regulation of ultra-processed foods to tackle India's growing obesity crisis.
Key Questions Answered
Since it opened in October 2017, the obesity clinic at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi has registered 14,000 patients.
Following the AIIMS model, Gujarat began opening free obesity treatment clinics in civil hospitals across three cities in March 2025, and the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad inaugurated a comprehensive obesity clinic in May.
The falling prices of generic semaglutide have made GLP-1 drugs more affordable and driven a willingness among patients to buy them, leading to increased prescriptions at the clinic over recent months.
