Over 35 per cent people in India are overweight, among which 5 to 10 per cent are obese. But, surveys in urban areas have suggested that the problem is more severe with an estimated 50 per cent falling in the overweight category, maintained Rajkumar Palaniappan, director of Institute of Bariatrics at Apollo Hospitals.
Interacting with the media during an awareness programme on ‘Innovations in Vascular Surgery, Obesity and Bariatric Surgery’ here on Sunday, Dr. Rajkumar maintained that obesity, since 1980, had doubled worldwide, and that there were more than 1.4 billion adults, aged 20 and above, who are overweight. “Of these, nearly 500 million people are obese,” he added, linking the causes to unhealthy diet and lifestyle.
Emphasising the adage, ‘Prevention is better than cure’, Dr. Rajkumar advised people to do away with sedentary lifestyle, as it allowed little opportunity to burn calories accumulated owing to diets rich in carbohydrates and fats.
“But, some of them have lost the chance of preventing obesity and have to resort to bariatric/metabolic surgery, which is a good treatment option to combat morbid obesity,” he maintained.
Later, Dr. Rajkumar along with senior consultant vascular surgeon V. Balaji explained innovations in vascular surgery and treatment options including endovascular or minimally invasive procedures. They further advised people to keep a track of risk factors like usage of tobacco, diabetes, high blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
