KOCHI: Kerala, known for human development index matching that of the developed countries, seems to be losing its battle with obesity. The latest report suggests Kerala men are catching up with its women in waistline, courtesy their sedentary lifestyle and increasing intake of junk foods.
The National Family Health Survey 2015-16 released recently shows women with obesity in Kerala have increased by 4.3 percentage points from 28.1 to 32.4 in the past 10 years.
On the men’s side, the spike was sharper at 10.6 percentage points from 17.9 to 28.5 during the same period. The trend is no good news for Kerala’s health sector and points to the lack of awareness of the problems obesity can create, said experts.“Obesity is not treated as a threat now. People often think it’s a matter of looks and decide they don’t care about it. However, the real issue lies with the health of a person who’ll have trouble in walking, breathing and sleeping. The chances of obese people getting a stroke are also high,” Aster Medcity’s bariatric surgeon Prasad Krishnan said.
With the latest survey showing Kerala slowly climbing up the infamous ladder, it is imperative new measures are introduced to curb obesity, said experts. It is a major cause of increased incidence of diabetes, hypertension and other lifestyle diseases in the state. It is not surprising Kerala is the diabetic capital of the country and now holds the first place in the prevalence of hypertension as per the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau.
Dr Prasad said obesity was chiefly caused by the high-calorie food intake. “The number of fast food chains expanding all over Kerala in a short span of time itself is an indicator of the fast-food consumption in the state. If a person eats high-calorie food, he/she should do activities to burn the calories. In Kerala, most office-goers have no physical activity in their office for the better part of the day and once they come back home, they’re too tired to do anything and end up buying fast food. This has to change,” said Dr Prasad.
Experts said obesity caused by genetic disorders was also high in number. People with a possibility of genetic obesity should be observed from childhood and their diet plans should be made as such. A continuous evaluation of one’s health is very important.Obesity now has many solutions - beginning with a little effort from an obese person’s part and ranging to various bariatric surgery.“It’s time every family chalked out a healthy diet plan and made their health a priority. Health and food must be discussed in every household on a regular basis and not just when a family member falls ill. It should be made a culture not just at home, but also at the workplace,” said Kottayam-based Caritas Hospital’s bariatric surgeon Jibu Eapen Mathews.“Even after a bariatric surgery, some patients hesitate to take continued efforts to maintain the weight. All obese patients come here motivated, but their sedentary lifestyle pulls them back,” he said.