Obesity shrinks life span

Hyderabad: Obesity can reduce the life expectancy of an individual by eight years, states a study published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology Journal in December. It is also one of the causes for an individual living an unhealthy life for 15 to 19 years due to cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

In adult males, who are five to six foot tall, the waist size must not exceed more than 39 inch -es and in adult females, it must not be more than 34 inches. A recent survey has found that 30 million people in India are obese. Obesity is calculated with Body Mass Index (BMI) and those whose BMI is above 30 are categorised as morbidly obese.

The prevalence of obesity varies from 10 to 30 per cent across all states in India. Cardiologist, Dr Sunil Kapoor said, “In India, the problem is abdominal obesity. Fats are distributed in the abdomen region. When this happens the internal organs have a lot of excess deposits of fats and these harm the functioning of other organs.”

In the annual check-ups of employees by corporate companies, it has been found that fatty-liver is one of the most common problems. This was not the case earlier.

Gynaecologist Dr K. Bhargavi said, “The excess accumulation of fats in the abdomen region gets toxic and begins to harm the body. Excess weight leads to innumerable problems and controlling it is very important.”

Dr K.S. Lakshmi said, “Earlier, insurance companies were not willing to treat obesity as a disease. It was classified as a cosmetic procedure. But recently, the Medical Council of India has agreed that obesity is a disease and must be given insurance coverage. With this, we hope that the government will work towards creating awareness about obesity and also its harmful effects.” Walking, swimming, cycling, aerobics and other forms of exercise must be carried out every day for 45 minutes along with a healthy diet.

10 year old girl bullied for being obese

Ten-year-old Farhan Zaveri (name changed) weighed 45 kg. Her obesity was a result of reaction to medicines taken during a severe episode of malaria. The reaction had led to bloating and overeating. Classmates made fun of her and she would often shy away from friends. The bullying was too much to bear, but the school counsellor advised to put her in dance and swimming sessions to lose weight. These two activities helped tremendously and in six months she lost 10 kg. The encouraging results brought confidence and also friends.

Obese teen faces breathing issues

Sixteen-year-old Rehana Sultana (name changed) weighed 85 kg and had no control over the fast foods that she consumed. The teenager was always on the healthier side in childhood but from there the switch to being obese was too fast for her parents to realise. She developed severe breathing problems and also had trouble with her menstrual cycle because of the excess weight.

Her worried parents consulted their family doctor who advised her to reduce weight. The young girl had to be literally pushed to exercise as she was unwilling. Six sessions of therapy helped her to understand the need to reduce weight and why it was important for her to be active. Her weight would be a major issue at the time of marriage and later for childbearing.

She joined a gym for morning exercise and would swim in the evening.

Woman in therapy prefers mini meals

Praneet Kaur, 50, (name changed) weighed 150 kg and she was told that she had to reduce 60 kg and if it was not possible, she would have to undergo bariatric surgery. Upset and not willing to get a surgery, she decided to join a naturopathy club and a behaviour therapy regime to deal with her hunger pangs.

As she was not able to walk properly due to the excess weight, the family was worried. She could not do any housework and had problems giving up food. A nutritionist, behavioural therapy, massage and exercises were suggested to her.

What Ms Kaur was most happy about was that her meals, instead of three, had been divided into six small meals of fruits, vegetables and one non-vegetarian item in the afternoon. Her exercise regime was fixed for morning and evening and a massage once a week. After one-and-a-half years, she managed to shed 40 kg. The same regime has to be followed for the next one year religiously to reduce 20 more kilos.