Obesity: An Emerging Health Crisis In India

Obesity is a disorder in which a person gets excessive body fat that increases the risk of health problems. Obesity occurs when a person's body mass index is more than or equals to 25. One of the major causes behind obesity is taking in more calories than burning. Obesity is a major health-care concern as it may sooner or later result in chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and some cancers.

While the Covid-19 wreaked havoc directly, it also had adverse effects indirectly. The lethargic lifestyle and back-to-back lockdowns forced people to stay at home without much exercise. Recently, the World Health Organization had estimated that worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975. Talking about India, 135 million people are obese, as per the Indian Journal of Community Medicine. 

According to the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS), there has been a rise in obesity among children under five years of age as 33 states and union territories registered spike in the number of overweight children. Obesity rates among children jumped substantially in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Experts worry the excess weight will be a continuing problem for these children.

The number of overweight children increased from 2.1 per cent in NFHS-4 to 3.4 per cent in NFHS-5. The percentage of overweight women rose from 20.6 per cent to 24 per cent while in men the number increased from 18.9 per cent to 22.9 per cent, according to the NFHS-5.

There are many reasons for a person to become obese. Causes like sedentary lifestyle, heredity, Poor nutrition control, and side-effect of any medication are likely to contribute to obesity.

The substantially alarming rise indicates that this needs to be addressed on urgent basis. Obesity increases one's risk of developing chronic conditions and raises unprecedented challenges. Obesity may lead to chronic conditions like hypertension (High blood pressure), diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, certain types of cancers and arthritis.

Other than posing a threat of chronic illnesses, Obesity also takes a toll on one's mental health. With the excess weight gain, one faces body image issues and is likely to develop low self-esteem. They also face problems like discrimination forcing them into a state of emotional imbalance.

Treatment

It is mandatory for a person to go to the root cause of their obesity. If it is a result of sedentary lifestyle, then exercising and maintaining a standard diet can go a long way. 

For severe obesity, Bariatric surgery is an effective treatment that results in the improvement or remission of many obesity-related comorbid conditions, as well as sustained weight loss and improvement in quality of life,The four most common bariatric operations performed worldwide are laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding and duodenal switch. Bariatric surgery is now safe, with mortality comparable to common elective general surgical operations

Level 1 evidence show that bariatric surgery provides superior short-term and long-term weight loss and improvement of type 2 diabetes mellitus compared with conventional medical therapy

Newly approved laparoscopic and endoscopic devices are now available for management of patients with obesity; however, the long-term efficacy of these devices is unknown

(Dr. Anshuman Kaushal,  Sr. Consultant, General & MI Surgery, Artemis Hospitals, Gurugram)

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