Overweight in Urban Areas Due To Hectic Life Styles

According to the World Health Organization over 300 million people are obese whereas a billion people are overweight. Given the statistics and consequences, insurance companies still do not consider obesity as a health disorder. In India, obesity is prevalent in metropolitan cities than other cities. According to a survey of the National Family Health Survey obesity and being overweight are conditions that are prevalent three times higher in urban centres than rural areas. The figures also suggest that the proportion of obesity in Indian cities is rising at a rate of 33-51% every few years. The survey also suggests that 24% of urban women are overweight in India.

Naina Setalvad who is a nutritionist, states that obesity was understandable in adults so far; however, even 8 year olds are now turning obese. Children as young as 12 years old are suffering from diabetes and hypertension nowadays. The renowned metabolic and bariatric surgeon Dr. Muffazal Lakdawala also states that on an average around 16% of city children are overweight while 6% are morbidly obese. Dr. Muffazal Lakdawala adds that even by Indian standards these percentages are very high. Dr. Raman Goel who is a bariatric surgeon with Bombay hospital blames the sedentary lifestyle that Indians have adapted to as the main reason behind the increasing number of obese people. He further adds that the food we eat is high on calories, be it traditional or modern food. Dr. Goel also states that most people are inert and their daily schedule involves no form of exercise.

However, there are a host of reasons other than lifestyle choices that can contribute towards weight gain. According to doctors, the Body Mass Index of Indians is lower than their Caucasian counterparts and these are factors beyond human control. For example, if an Indian and an American puts on 5 kilos in weight, the Indian will put on that much in fat while the American will put on that much in muscles. The difference is carried forward to the BMI cut-off for bariatric surgery as well. The cut-off for an Indian for the surgery is 32.5 while that for an American is 35. Since obesity brings with it a host of diseases like diabetes, cholesterol, hypertension and high blood pressure, doctors suggest it is better to curb the disease in the very beginning by using preventive measures, rather than wait for complications to rear their head.