Obesity a disease, needs to be treated

Vijayawada (NTR district): "About 80 crore people across the worldwide are suffering with obesity. India is the third most obese country in the world with 13.5 crore people affected with obesity. Childhood obesity is expected to increase by 100 per cent between 2020 and 2035 worldwide," warned Endocrinologist Dr Rakesh Bobba.

Stating that World Obesity Day is observed on March 4 every year to create awareness among the general public about the hazards of obesity, the senior doctor said that this year's theme is "Changing Perspectives: Let's Talk About Obesity…" He said that obesity is on the rise globally and efforts to address it are challenging due to misconceptions about obesity and the role it plays in a person's health and asserted that together we can correct misconceptions surrounding obesity, acknowledge its complexities and take effective, collective action.

Obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health, which is most commonly measured by BMI. Obesity is a risk factor for diabetes, high blood pressure, heart ailments, stroke, osteoarthritis, infertility and many cancers like breast, colon, liver and others. Obesity itself is a disease caused by many factors like increased consumption of processed foods, sedentary lifestyle, genetic factors, mental health issues like depression and disturbed sleep among others. Dr Rakesh deplored that it is sad that obesity is not recognised as a disease but instead as a personal failure by many. However, 40 to 70 per cent of obesity can be attributed to genetics.

'Genetically, majority of the global population is pre-programmed to store fat in order to avoid starvation. While this is a helpful survival mechanism during periods of famine, it is not helpful in our current obesogenic environments. Today, people live in a society where calorie dense junk foods are cheaply available and healthy snacks are costly. Opportunities to be physically active are reduced with 'work from home' after Covid and this consequently led to excess weight gain. Obesity is thus not a matter of personal failure, but a disease state developed in response to our present obesogenic environment,' he explained. It is a chronic disease that requires long-term treatment.

'Policymakers cannot reduce genetic risk, but they can reduce the influence of an obesogenic environment. Creating healthy environments plays a central role in tackling obesity.' Dr Rakesh Bobba noted that ensuring access to healthy diets and opportunities to be physically active are not only policies to prevent obesity. 'It is vital to enable billion of people suffering with obesity the best chance of recovery by improving access to nutritious food, while reducing consumption of energy-dense foods, especially among vulnerable children, and supporting policies that promote physical activity as part of normal living,' he observed.