Weight management is an urgent need of the day for us. The danger cannot be overstated.

 

Obesity is recognized as a chronic medical condition characterized by an excess of body fat. It is also a relapsing disease: people who lose weight are at risk of gaining weight again if they go back to their old behaviors.

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Obesity is a complex disorder, involving regulation of appetite as well as metabolism, which are controlled by multiple factors.  It’s not simple “calories in-calories out”: a lot of factors play a role, including multiple hormones, and environmental and developmental factors. Increased risk of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, hypertension, dyslipidemia, gall bladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, and cancer are some of the serious diseases associated with obesity. The degree of risk is majorly determined by the distribution of fat, with central obesity being more significant. This is what puts us Indians at greater risk: Indians tend to gain weight around the waist while our arms and legs remain thin. 

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In recent years, obesity has reached epidemic proportions due to sedentary lifestyle and consumption of high-calorie content food, especially fast food. Globally, more than 1.9 billion adults are overweight and 650 million are obese. In India, abdominal obesity is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Prevalence rate of obesity in India varies from 12%-31%; with a prevalence of up to 46% in Punjab.