Dr Kavish Chouhan, who has treated thousands of patients for androgenetic alopecia, said the connection between metabolic health and hair health is now undeniable.
Published Nov 13, 2025 | 12:04 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 13, 2025 | 12:04 PM
Link between obesity, insulin resistance, and hair loss. (iStock)
Synopsis: At the Dakshin Health Summit 2025, dermatologists warned that insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome are playing a major role in the rise of hair loss, even among young people.
India’s growing obesity and metabolic health crisis is now showing up in an unexpected place- the scalp. At the Dakshin Health Summit 2025, organised by South First at the Asian Insitute of Gastroenterology in Hyderabad on Sunday, 9 November, dermatologists warned that insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome are playing a major role in the rise of hair loss, even among young people.
“Hair loss is not just cosmetic, it’s metabolic,” said Dr Madhavi Reddy, senior consultant dermatologist. “We’re finding that obesity and insulin resistance are directly accelerating patterned hair loss.”
Dakshin Health Summit 2025. (Supplied)
Renowned hair transplant surgeon Dr Kavish Chouhan, who has treated thousands of patients for androgenetic alopecia, said the connection between metabolic health and hair health is now undeniable.
“As Asians, we tend to store more fat around the abdomen,” Dr Chouhan explained. “That increases insulin resistance and once insulin resistance rises, androgenic alopecia progresses faster,”
He added that visceral fat, the kind that builds up around internal organs, is especially harmful because it triggers inflammation and hormonal shifts that attack hair follicles.
Doctors say that while genetics still determine baldness risk, today’s lifestyle and metabolic load are pushing hair loss to appear decades earlier.
“In one family, I’ve treated the father in his 40s and now the son at 20,” said Dr Chouhan. “The genetic clock hasn’t changed! our environment has,”
Among young women, obesity is also driving hormonal imbalance and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), another cause of early hair thinning.
“Obesity and insulin resistance are feeding into PCOS, which manifests as hair loss, acne, and irregular cycles,” said Dr Reddy. “Hair loss is often the first visible sign.”
Both experts urged that patients presenting with hair loss should undergo routine metabolic tests, including blood sugar, thyroid, vitamin D, and insulin levels — instead of jumping directly to cosmetic solutions.
“Hair fall may be your first clue that your metabolism is off track,” said Dr Reddy. “Fixing that early can prevent bigger diseases later.”
Hair loss, dermatologists say, should no longer be seen as a vanity issue. It is an early symptom of deeper metabolic disruption — one that can reveal how a generation’s lifestyle is changing faster than its genes can adapt.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
