Abdominal obesity in females: a problem in South Asia receiving insufficient attention

Abdominal obesity (AO) has become a major health problem to most of the Asian communities. The severity and consequences of AO are higher among females. It has virtually become an epidemic in most South Asian countries and the health care systems in this region are likely to be challenged by one of the biggest health issues in the near future. Yet, the recognition of the magnitude of the problem by health authorities is poor. The purpose of this paper is to motivate health care professionals, planners and policy makers towards better control of the epidemic of AO while highlighting the paucity of evidence on clinical management of AO from the South Asian region.