As fast food makes inroads, India’s obesity rate rockets

India, with a population of more than a billion people, used to have regular food shortages.

Increasing prosperity has expanded the middle class and globalization has brought many western-style fast-food outlets to the country. The BBC’s Rahul Tandon reports from Calcutta that, while many well-to-do young Indians binge on burgers and fries, obesity is rocketing and many poor Indians still find it hard to feed themselves. The report is part of a special BBC-Marketplace series on the increasingly global problem of obesity.