Excelsior Correspondent
New Delhi, Sept 28: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said here that India faces major health challenge from “obesity in young” and, unless this rapidly spreading epidemic is not checked in time, it will continue to predispose to a host of related disorders like Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, hypertension, heart disease and lipid disorders.
Delivering the address as chief guest at the three-day National Conference on “Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery” at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Dr Jitendra Singh said, a worrisome feature is that obesity in young is soon becoming an accepted feature in the society. Citing example he said, there was a time when a single obese child in the school class would be teased by his or her classmates, whereas now most of the children in the class are obese and this is accepted as a norm.
Dr Singh also observed that a peculiar feature in the people of India is that the abdominal obesity is far more prevalent than generalised obesity and we have ample number of research studies to prove that abdominal obesity is an independent risk factor for disease, irrespective of the generalized obesity. This could also be the reason for rising prevalence of diabetes in women, which was not so till a few decades ago, because the prevalence of obesity in Indian women is almost equal to that in Indian men, he said.
While obesity needs to be checked through lifestyle modification and other measures, Dr Singh said, bariatric surgery is a more recent addition to our management armament. However, he cautioned against over- indulgence in carrying out bariatric surgery, which could in certain cases be avoidable.
In a country like India, Dr Singh said, where the majority of population is that of youth, the nation can hardly afford obesity draining away the vital youth power and energy which is a huge resource for the growth of the country. Control of lifestyle diseases should be soon a national priority, he added.
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