6-yr-old youngest Indian to undergo bariatric surgery

New Delhi, July 25: Lack of physical activity has literally taken a toll on kids these days. This is evident from the fact that two bariatric weight loss surgeries have taken place in India , in less than a month.

The latest kid to undergo bariatric surgery is a six-year-old boy, the youngest from India, from Madhya Pradesh, at a hospital in Indore. His weight was more than 60 kilograms and his BMI (Body Mass Index) was about 50 before the surgery, doctors attending on him said.

"The surgery was performed about a month back after which the patient's weight decreased by seven kgs," said Dr Mohit Bhandari, Bariatric Surgeon at Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences (SAIMS).

Bhandari claimed that the boy was the youngest patient in the country to undergo this kind of surgery on June 19.

He used to face breathing problems, sleep apnea and hormonal disorders due to it, the doctor said.

In bariatric surgery, the size of the stomach is reduced by removing a part which generates hormones not conducive for metabolism.

According to Bhandari, the boy is expected to lose another 25-30 kgs of weight in the next six months.

Last Thursday, a 11-year-old girl, whose lifestyle is high on junk food and zero physical activity, underwent bariatric surgery in Mumbai. Before surgery, she weighed 98 kg, almost triple the weight of children her age.

Twenty percent children in the country fall in ‘obese' category and by 2015 this figure will cross 30 per cent, he said.

OneIndia News

(With Agecny inputs)