BENGALURU: Recently an alarming news has been embedded in my mind. According to an institutional study, more than 50 per cent South Indians are considered to be obese. India also has the world’s highest childhood obesity.
As per WHO report, India has the world’s third-largest obese population. Also, our nation, unfortunately has the dubious distinction of being the ‘diabetic capital of the world’. We all know that diabetes is linked to obesity.
All these tags, which are given to India, based on various case studies and analyses should really wake us up, and get us on our feet and do something about it.The issue with the Indian mind-set is that obesity or weight gain is not seen as a serious problem. Whereas in countries like the US and UK it’s treated as a disease. As known, ‘obesity is the mother of all diseases’.
What we need for a healthy life is just 30 per cent of what we eat, and another 70 per cent of what we eat only invites obesity and other diseases.
If you are obese and doing nothing about it, trust me, you are digging your own grave here. Obesity brings along with it several other deadly medical conditions like diabetes, arthritis, joint pain, sleep apnoea, and even fatal diseases like cardiovascular issues, which affect our life to an irreparable extent.
To an extent, we can blame the increasing obesity to the easy availability of unhealthy processed junk food. With increased affordability and the rising income of the middle class, thi has only aggravated the problem.
Medically-speaking, we need to know correctly as to when we are getting closer to the risk of getting obese.
Normal BMI: 18.0-22.9 kg/m2: overweight; 23.0-24.9 kg/m2: obesity; >25 kg/m2: morbid obesity: >32.5kg/m2
The figures shown above should be every individual’s screensaver, wallpaper, and even in the wallets, as a constant reminder, to check on one’s weight and health.
In order to tackle obesity, I would recommend starting with making these basic changes in your daily lifestyle.
The author is a chief surgeon and senior consultant at Aster CMI Hospital