Obesity is a global concern that is also affecting the Indian population. According to recent studies, the world has an estimated 1.9 billion overweight adults with 650 million suffering from obesity. In India, more than 135 million individuals are affected making it the third highest country.
FACTS ABOUT OBESITY
Obesity, once considered a problem of high-income countries, is now spreading to low and middle-income countries especially among the urban population. The prevalence of obesity in India ranges from 11.8 % to 31.3 % and is rising. It varies with age, gender, geographical environment, socio-economic status and other factors. Women are found to be more affected than men. There is also a high rate of obesity among children with India having the second highest cases of childhood obesity.
CAUSES OF OBESITY
Obesity has been associated with unhealthy food habits, a sedentary lifestyle, financial support, and a lack of health care services and awareness. It has been found to increase the risk of diseases such as diabetes, heart and liver disease and contributes to the government’s financial and medical burden. Worldwide being overweight or obese is responsible for 2.8 million deaths a year. In India, abdominal obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Genetic factors play some part in the development of obesity — children of obese parents are 10 times more likely to be obese than children with parents of normal weight.
HOW IS OBESITY MEASURED
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines being overweight or obesity as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. Being overweight or obesity in adults is measured by body mass index (BMI) which is defined as an individual’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of his or her height in meters (kg/m2). A BMI greater than or equal to 25 is considered overweight; and BMI greater or equal to 30 denotes obesity. For Asians, due to risk factors and morbidities, the criteria are slightly different with overweight being ≥23.0kg/m2 and obesity ≥25.0kg/m2.
The term morbid obesity refers to a condition in which patients are 50 – 100% above their ideal body weight. Alternatively, a BMI (body mass index) value greater than 39 may be used to diagnose morbid obesity.
CALCULATE YOUR BMI
ADVERSE EFFECTS OF OBESITY
If not treated, obesity can result in severe medical complications such as:
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Heart disease
- Sleep apnea
- Urinary incontinence
- Gastrointestinal complications
- Obstetric complications
- Low back pain
- Osteoarthritis
- DVT and Thromboembolism
- Depression
- Immobility
- Reduced quality of life
- Disability
- Premature death
OBESITY TREATMENT OPTIONS
Bariatric surgery has been found to be an effective tool in the management of obesity. There are different types of procedures which can be classified depending upon the mechanism of weight loss as restrictive, malabsorptive, and combined procedures. The IFSO (International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders) recognizes 5 standard procedures, namely, laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB), laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), laparoscopic Roux-En-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB), biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (BPD-DS), and laparoscopic mini-gastric bypass (MGB-OAGB).