Blame it on their famed sweet tooth, but Kolkatans are losing the battle of the bulge and, more alarmingly, not making any efforts to win it either.
Survey says overeating and sedentary lifestyles responsible for nearly one-third of city’s middle class being overweight
KOLKATA: Blame it on their famed sweet tooth, but Kolkatans are losing the battle of the bulge and, more alarmingly, not making any efforts to win it either.
According to a recent study conducted by the All India Conference of Obesity (AICOS), nearly one-third of the city’s middle and lower income groups is overweight. About 15% pre-teen school kids are obese. And, worse, about 80% of them have not sought medical advice.
According to experts, a majority of these people have a body mass index (BMI) of over 30, which can be life-threatening. Senior dietician at BP Poddar Hospital, Nina Singh, says BMI of over 40 leads to morbidity. A BMI of 25-30 is first-grade obesity, 30-35 is second-grade obesity and 35-40 is third-grade obesity. The BMI is calculated by dividing one’s body weight by height, in square metres.
Singh gets about 20 patients in a week out of which 10-12 are obese. She says she treated a teenaged boy weighing 110 kg whereas he should have been about 30 kg. However, she laments, he never came back for a review after the first sitting.
Another city doctor confides his own daughter was 70 kg at the age of 16. She came down to about 53 kg after rigorous exercises. But he says a 90-kg patient who reduced to 40 kg regained all her weight when she went back to her old eating ways.
Adds Dr Subrata Maitra, internist and critical care specialist with BP Poddar Hospital and Belle Vue Clinic: “We tend to follow a western lifestyle these days - eating junk food with lots of refined sugar, fat and less of high fibre content. Using elevators instead of walking up the stairs or sitting at the desk for long hours can also lead to obesity.”
Experts say that liposuction and exercises will not help if the BMI touches 35. One will have to follow a strict diet regimen. The study says that the extra calorie intake is the reason for obesity in 99% cases. Hereditary conditions like thyroid etc contributed to a mere 1% .
While liposuction will reduce weight by 10% in a single sitting, a stomach banding can cut the flab by about 40%. Stomach banding surgery involves tying a band around the upper portion of the stomach which gives the patient a false sense of satiation, keeping food intake in check. In severe cases, doctors have to resort to stapling the stomach to reduce its size.
m_madhumita@dnaindia.net
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