4TH of March is observed as the World Obesity Day every year. Obesity is a global health issue and has taken epidemic proportions. The worrying aspect of this medical issue is that it’s affecting populations worldwide. The World Obesity Federation indicates that if current trends continue, by 2025 2.7 billion adults worldwide will be overweight. Obesity is the number one cause and poses as risk factors for many other diseases and is linked to high mortality rates.
The Aim of This Day is to Treat Obesity Now and Avoid the Consequences Later
- Treatment services to support people with obesity – those who want treatment receive access to the best services available
- Early intervention to improve the treatment success – those who want support should receive access to early interventions
- Prevention to reduce the need for treatment – meeting WHO targets by preventing weight gain and re-gain to ensure effective obesity treatment1
The Common Complications of Obesity Include:
- Risk of cardiovascular diseases.
- Risk of diabetes.
- Risk of hypertension.
- Increased triglycerides
- Endocrinal issues and joint issues
Adult Obesity:
Obesity is a condition where a person has accumulated so much body fat that it might have a negative effect on their health.
Any individual having a bodyweight at least 20% higher than what it should is considered obese. A Body Mass Index (BMI) between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight. If your BMI is 30 or over you are considered obese.
For Adults, the Who Defines Overweight and Obesity as Follows:
- overweight is a BMI greater than or equal to 25; and
- obesity is a BMI greater than or equal to 30.
BMI provides the most useful population-level measure of overweight and obesity as it is the same for both sexes and for all ages of adults. However, it should be considered a rough guide because it may not correspond to the same degree of fatness in different individuals.
Causes of Obesity:
Obesity occurs when there is more calories intake than you use. The balance between calories-in and calories-out differs for each person. Factors that might affect your weight include your genetic makeup, overeating, eating high-fat foods, and not being physically active. Hormonal imbalances are also associated with weight gain.
Risk Factors of Obesity:
Being obese increases your risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and some cancers Excessive body weight is associated with various diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus type 2, obstructive sleep apnoea, and certain types of cancer, osteoarthritis and asthma
Childhood Obesity
Childhood Obesity has now become one of the most serious health concerns of this century and is increasingly affecting the developing nations. Most of the childhood obesity cases are seen in the urban areas.
The seriousness of this condition is in the future complications it creates. In the long term, childhood obesity can lead to some serious illnesses like:
- Elevated Cholesterol leading to many heart ailments.
- High Blood Pressure.
- Type 2 Diabetes.
- Respiratory Problems.
- Poor self-esteem, being bullied, increased risk of depression, poor social skills, and behavioural problems plague these children.
Some Causes of Childhood Obesity Include:
- Lifestyle choices with limited range of activities.
- Diet: Choosing unhealthy options.
- Environment: What you stack up in your refrigerator is what your child would gobble.
- Using food as a coping mechanism for psychological inadequacies.
- Genetics.
- Certain Medical conditions like Prader-Willi syndrome, and hypothyroidism.
- Unhealthy sleep patterns.
How to Stop Childhood Obesity:
- Increase breastfeeding in early childhood. This not only reduces the appetite of children, it also prompts them to eat only as much as they need.
- Provide healthy diet with meals, snacks, and physical activity. It’s not good to isolate them since they are obese. Take measures for spending quality time with them.
- Provide vegetables, whole grains, fruits, lentils, nuts and lean meats.
- Restrict the use of aerated drinks, ice creams, and other junk food to a minimum.
- Indulge in poultry, fish, and other protein that’s cooked and not fried.
- Maintain food timings.
- Reduce sedentary life and get more physical activity.
Overweight and obesity, is a noncommunicable disease, and is largely preventable. Supportive environments and communities are fundamental in shaping people’s choices, by making the choice of healthier foods and regular physical activity the easiest and therefore preventing overweight and obesity.
The Main Protocols to Follow Would Be:
- limit energy intake from total fats and sugars;
- increase consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as legumes, whole grains and nuts; and
- engage in regular physical activity
Treatment Options of Obesity Include:
- Changes in diet:
1) Reduce on Sugars and Starches (Carbohydrates): The most important part is to reduce your intake on sugars and carbohydrates. These are the foods that stimulate secretion of insulin, which causes fat storage in the body. It is important to try to stick to healthier carb sources like oats, rice, quinoa, potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruits, etc.
2) Eat Protein, Fat and Vegetables essential weight loss tip and essential for weight control
- Meat – Beef, chicken, pork, lamb, bacon, etc.
- Fish and Seafood – Salmon, trout, shrimps, lobsters, etc.
- Eggs – Omega-3 enriched or pastured eggs
The importance of eating plenty of protein cannot be overstated as part of the diet plan to reduce weight
High protein diets can reduce desire for late-night snacking by half, and create fullness and supress desire to snack. By adding protein to the diet you can lose weight. Protein is the king of nutrients.
3) A diet based on meat and vegetables contains all the fibre, vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy. There is no physiological need for Grains in the diet.
- Regular exercise: –Lift Weights 3 Times per Week: By lifting weights, you will burn a few calories and prevent your metabolism from slowing down, which is a common side effect of losing weight.
- Weight loss surgery like Laparoscopic Gastric Band Surgery, Gastric Bypass, and Bariatric Surgery. Bariatric surgery has proved to be one of the successful options for weight loss with high efficacy. If you want to know about your suitability for a bariatric surgery, consult our doctors now. A gastric band type of surgery is becoming an increasingly common treatment for obesity.
- Bariatric surgery alters your stomach or small intestine size so that you are unable to consume much food at one time and reduce the feeling of hunger, enhancing the feeling of satiety. This reduces the total number of calories you consume each day, thus helping to lose weight.
For further queries on obesity and weight management please contact Wockhardt Hospital.
Wockhardt Hospitals, a chain of tertiary care super-specialty hospitals has more than 25 years of experience in the creation and management of Super Specialty Hospitals in India.
At Wockhardt Hospitals our Endocrinology department, Diabetes and Weight Management Centre at Wockhardt Hospital treat various endocrine disorders .The division has an integrated multi-disciplinary model for providing comprehensive management of the entire range of endocrine conditions. Our team is also actively involved in ongoing research for diabetes and other endocrine disorders. These disorders are investigated and treated by our endocrinologist at Wockhardt Hospital.
Wockhardt Hospitals also has unique weight management centre. Together with India’s only physician certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine, our centre focuses on medical management of overweight and obesity conditions. We have a multidisciplinary team consisting of physicians, dieticians, counsellors and exercise physiologists. The protocol delivers an international evidence-based management for safe and effective weight loss. The program also works in close collaboration with surgical approaches for weight management for those patients that need it, as the Hospital is also a Centre of Excellence for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and also has a Surgeon of Excellence.
Bariatric Surgery at Wockhardt Hospitals is recognised as a centre of excellence Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Our renowned doctor, Dr Raman Goel and his specialised and dedicated team provide the clinical expertise for managing and treating obesity through this super speciality surgery. The team is guided and has immense experience with all surgical protocols for all procedures and Pre & Post-surgical Management.
Wockhardt Hospitals have been regarded as a centre of excellence in medical science and surgery with facilities in North Mumbai (Mira road), South Mumbai (Mumbai Central), Navi Mumbai (Vashi), Nagpur, Nasik, Rajkot and Surat. Wockhardt Hospitals is having state-of-the-art infrastructure whose prime objective is patient safety first and quality of care at the core of its strategy. The guiding philosophy is to serve and enrich the Quality of Life of patients and to make life win.
