15 per cent of India's 1.1 bn population morbidly obese

Mumbai, Jan 23 (UNI) A whopping 15 per cent of India's 1.1 billion population is morbidly obese, country's first Obesity Support Group and the 'Obese No More Campaign' has said.

Contrary to popular belief, obesity is not caused by over-eating or eating disorders.

With a single-minded purpose of creating awareness about this seeping life-long problem of obesity, there is a unique anti-obesity and anti-overweight campaign called ''Obese No More Campaign''.

This support group conducts meetings from time to time at various places, attended by patients and a team of doctors led by noted Bariatric surgeon Dr Mufazzal Lakdawala, Dr Sunita Goel (Anaesthetist), Ms Payal Batra (Nutritionist), Dr S M Bandookwala (Endocrinologist) and Dr Jukar (Sports Medicine Consultant), a release issued here said.

Dr Lakdawala, bariatric surgeon said ''Imagine a person with a weight of over 180 kgs. Not only is he suffering from obesity but also from a host of related complications such as heart disease, diabetes, orthopedic problems, blood pressure, respiratory problems and so on. How do you save this person from this morbid condition, considering the practical issues in treatment ranging from anesthesia to various surgical procedures.'' ''Various unexpected problems crop up after the treatment as due to the long ranging effects of the previous disease,'' he said.

India has taken a center stage in Medicine and morbid Obesity and it is a growing concern that the medical fraternity is dealing with,'' the doctor said.

Dr Sharita Shah, Psychiatrist, informs that there are various psychological reasons why people are putting on weight, for instance, often one of the causes of obesity amongst women is mental stress, due to which women keep munching food to find solace. Also modern lifestyle patterns and eating junk food are some of the factors responsible for increasing the statistic of overweight amongst adolescents.

''We would like the people to be more aware of the severity and complexity of obesity and the right approach to its treatments. We hope to reach out to maximum people through this campaign,'' said Dr Sujit Chatterjee, CEO Hiranandani Hospital and Convener of ''the the Campaign''.

For more information on it one can log on to centre for obesity support: www.obesenomore.org.

UNI