Consequences and potential solutions to this alarming trend up next we get you all this in Harshita Oberoi's report Obesity a chronic complex disease marked by excessive fat deposits has become a global health emergency Today one in eight people worldwide are living with obesity in 2022 2.5 billion adults or 43% of the adult population are classified as Overweight of these 890 million are living with obesity representing 16% of adults worldwide The situation among children is equally concerning Over 390 million children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 19 are overweight and 160 million are living with obesity Even the youngest are not immune with 37 million children under 5 classified as overweight The health consequences of obesity are severe It's a gateway to diseases like type 2 diabetes heart disease stroke and several types of cancer Obesity also impacts daily life affecting mobility sleep quality and overall well-being Unfortunately, the cause of this epidemic is multifaceted and understanding.

It is key to reversing the trend So what causes obesity?

the answer lies in both our environment and lifestyle unbalanced diets lack of physical activity and sedentary behaviors have created an environment that fosters weight gain and People age physical activity tends to decrease while calorie intake remains the same Leading to excess calories being stored as fat Combined with slower metabolism and the constant availability of calorie dense food It's easy to see why obesity is becoming so widespread But the root causes go beyond diet and exercise Hormonal imbalances genetics and certain medical conditions such as thyroid disorders can also play a role Poor eating habits like consuming too many fatty processed foods and sugary drinks contribute to the problem Furthermore the rise in screen time and decreased outdoor activity Especially among children has made it even harder to combat obesity from an early age Well, the reality is that obesity starts young when children are fed unhealthy calorie-dense food The foundations of obesity are often laid early on This has serious consequences as children who are obese tend to suffer from low self-esteem and they are more likely to develop depression So, how can we prevent and manage this growing crisis the answer lies in lifestyle changes?

It's crucial to limit screen time and promote physical activity healthy eating habits and proper sleep Parents must also play a role by instilling healthy eating habits in their children early on In fact studies show the proper nutrition and physical activity during childhood can help prevent obesity later in life Well when prevention isn't enough medical interventions come into play for adults with a BMI greater than 23.5 Lifestyle changes such as improved diet and exercise are recommended for those with a BMI over 27.5 and associated health issues weight loss medications may be prescribed, but these may be closely monitored For more severe cases bariatric surgery may be necessary bariatric procedures like gastric bypass or vasoliposuction Help patients lose weight by either restricting food intake or causing malabsorption of nutrients These surgeries have become increasingly effective for patients who have struggled with obesity through other means Vasoliposuction for example is a minimally invasive technique that precisely targets and removes unwanted body fat without harming the surrounding tissues In India the government has recognized the urgent need to address obesity and launched several initiatives to tackle this crisis Programs like the Fit India movement and Eat Right India aim to encourage healthy eating habits and promote physical activity across the country Ultimately the key to tackling obesity lies in prevention awareness and intervention through better nutrition physical activity and timely medical treatment We can reverse the trend and help people lead healthier longer lives Harshita Oberoi, Wellness Watch, TD India All right So nearly 3 billion people worldwide are living with Overweight are living by being overweight or with obesity such is the threat of obesity That is spreading like an epidemic that it is being referred to as globesity Obesity is also one side of the double burden of malnutrition and today more people are obese than Underweight in every region except the South East Asia region once considered a problem only in high-income countries Today some middle-income countries have among the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity worldwide Obesity a chronic disease poses significant health risks and is linked to conditions like cardiovascular diseases Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers it is often defined as having a body mass index of 30 or higher Today we look for the following answers on Wellness Watch.

What is the difference in being obese or overweight?

What causes obesity What are the types of obesity We also delve upon health risks associated with obesity Can obesity be cured And what medical advancements are available in India with regard to treatment of obesity All right recognising obesity as a critical public health concern the government of India has launched comprehensive Multi-pronged initiatives to prevent manage and reduce obesity at all levels fit India movement I use fast eogena to promote I use interventions in community health care Potion of yarn aim to encourage holistic nutrition the eat right India movement now These are some of the initiatives by the government of India to encourage overall well-being and upper on your screens now We will have the hospitals which specifically treat the menace of obesity All India Institute of Medical Sciences Delhi Rama, Nohal Lohia Hospital, Delhi To discuss obesity and help us understand it better.

We're joined in by guests We're joined in by dr. Sunil M.

Raheja director internal medicine Moolchand Hospital, Delhi and former DGHS and MS GB Panth Hospital He is joining us in the studio and dr. Sunil Kumar Mishra director department of endocrinology and diabetes Graphic era Institute of Medical Science, Dehradun is joining us virtually Thank you so much both of you for joining us this afternoon on wellness watch to begin with dr. Raheja I would want you to explain to our viewers though We've shown a detailed report telling us about the threat and the menace of obesity But in simple easy terms, I want you to explain to our viewers.

What is obesity is being overweight same as being obese Yes, if you see if a person Physically looks obese He or she is obese by definition if we see we take weight in kg divided by height in meter squares And this is called the body mass index for Indian if it is less than 23 it is normal more than 23 is Overweight and more than 25 is obese But for the other countries like Western part less than 25 is taken as underweight and more than 30 is taken as obese and Beside this you can calculate height in centimeters Minus weight in kgs.

So you will know if a person is like 5 feet 4 inch So the height in centimeter becomes 160 centimeter So if the weight is 60 kg, then I mean then you can see the difference.

Yes minus 100 So height in centimeter minus 100.

Hmm.

That is the ideal weight for the person like If 160 centimeters height, yes, then minus 100 the weight should be around 60 plus minus 2 and for female It should be plus minus 4.

So another is for Indian is very important to have a West-hip ratio that is if you take the best circumference at the Maximum minimum area and then you take the hip circumference at the maximum area and for males mens It should be less than 0.85 for women.

It should be 0.9.

So for overall the best circumference should be less than 90 centimeter for men's and less than 80 centimeter for women because this is called the Centripetal obesity or the peer shape obesity This is even more dangerous than the generalized obesity because the fat in the abdomen is metabolically more active to cause the cardiac disease hypertension diabetes metabolic syndrome stroke So all these things are more in Indians right now and even if you see diabetes and heart disease in Indian It's it is early onset because of this centripetal obesity even the person may be normal weight so the most important is as you have told the Obesity is the gateway to many diseases like hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart attack, stroke cancers, low esteem Decreased physical activity and the person gets you know tired very fast.

So all these things make you a Mockery of your body.

So managing obesity from the very beginning the most important is now then Obesity has increased in school children in Delhi if you find more than 20% Students are overweight or obese.

So we need to work from the very beginning and it is seen if the child is obese in The school they are likely to stay obese throughout their life.

All right.

I'll take that forward to Dr. Mishra.

Dr. Mishra Sir explained to us what is obese and what is overweight, but I want you to tell us Does obesity affect any particular organs of the body when you talk of the human body then?

Which parts of the body are more prone to being obese one and what are the types of obesity?

So obesity means abnormal fat deposition Minimal amount of the fat is required to be deposited in the body for the optimal functioning of the body and Providing the nutrition and the calorie at the odd time what is obesity is that the abnormal fat deposition beyond the normal limit and Dr. Sunil was also talking about That abdominal fat it means the fat deposition in the abdomen and visceral organ is more Dangerous compared to fat deposited into the non-visceral fat now in obesity the type of the obesity Different type because people will have generalized obesity Some people will have generalized obesity means they have fat deposition in all over the body Then there are the people who will have the particularly fat deposition in the belly fat, right?

So they have abdominal obesity otherwise Classify them in terms of the body mass index You may find them in the upper end of the normal BMI or even overweight But sometime the classification wise they may not fall into the category of the obesity.

Although obesity is the definition for the excess fat in the body, so There is one wonderful paper in the Lancet by Dr. Yagnik and Dr. Yudkin Dr. Yagnik is an endocrinologist at Maine and Dr. Yudkin is an endocrinologist in Europe So one day they did their body mass index calculation and they found that the both are having the same BMI of 22.5 but while doing the body fat composition and analysis by bone density test The next step is to measure the fat Dr. Yagnik is having a fat percentage of 22% and Dr. Yudkin is only 9% So the race clearly we are more prone for the fat deposition and more fat deposition in the belly region because of the abnormal fat deposition in that particular region Dr. Raheja, we have talked of You know how lifestyle changes can be made to ensure you remain healthy Eating right is a very important aspect doing physical exercises To what extent both of these contribute in preventing obesity and also a lot of focus Today in today's times has been given to what we eat and how much we eat or really do we skip eating?

I would want you to explain to us the concept of eating and obesity together Skipping meals or for that matter miracle diets put all this together help us understand to what is the role of eating When you talk of obesity very nicely asked as our Honorable Prime Minister has Discussed in the Man Ki Baat, eating right.

Yes, Abhiyan I think this is the key to success as we are finding increase in the number of obesity People which is a gateway to many diseases as we discussed eating right is the key Eating right our traditional meals Mota Anaj, Millets as our Honorable Prime Minister has been saying Millets, Ragi, Bajra then Gold rice, whole wheat Which has got brand and the food which is rich in diet Fiber like fruits and vegetable eating right eat directly from the nature I always say avoid eating hurry curry worry Outside curry foods Particularly as you are saying this Chola Bhatura and the curry which you are getting eating outside in the restaurant it contains 40 to 50 percent fat and that too it is rich in trans fat because of the Palm oil used and even the oil used for Bhatura here is repeatedly heated up It breaks down oxidizes into trans fatty acids, which are more dangerous to up for our health Now the disaster is that we are adopting to the Western eating culture like pizza, burger Chowmein, which is a white maida.

I always say all these increase the glycemic index and deposition of fat in the body because Already we used to eat that Paratha, puri and all that on top of it the trash food or fast food which has come over the Decades has made the things worse than the sedentary lifestyle Second is important thing is right exercise.

I always tell please spare one hour for your physical activity Maybe you play some sports do some yoga do walking jogging swimming Badminton cricket hockey football and I request all the parents to tell their children.

Please go out and play I repeat go out and play don't play your Cricket and football on computers or laptops what I see these days I am really feel I feel very disappointed and low when I find them So, please go out and play do cycling do swimming do your jogging any kind of physical activity you like dancing for that matter So whatever you like Please do physical activity of one hour and yoga is one of the best exercises for all age groups Starting from five years to 50 years plus 60 years plus any age group can do yoga So it has to be a combination of exercises Yes, it's like I say when you eat different kind of food always adopt to the exercise which suits you best And of course if you are having chronic disease like heart disease diabetes osteoarthritis backache Then you must or respiratory diseases then you must consult your physician or doctor how much exercise you can take?

So all these are so scientifically designed eat well sleep well and Drink well, don't drink that sugary drinks Pepsi colas and all that sort of things which are very rich in food and Stay stress-free because even stress will lead like, you know forces you to eat more sweets and fatty meals if you see All right, and that's a wide sedentary life live natural be natural sleep natural This is what take home a very a very wholesome answer given by our doctor here.

Dr. Mishra I would want you to tell us more on Is how can genetic obesity be avoided one and secondly are men more prone to obesity?

Okay, so you have asked two question number.

How can we avoid genetic obesity?

So there is no way to avoid the genetic obesity because genetic obesity usually presents a pretty early age of the life So there you will see the peers Siblings the parents will have the obesity and that obesity present in multiple family members a pretty early age hardly, there can be any treatment options available for genetic kind of obese But the bigger answer here is a more important answer is yes Then the way the obesity has increased Rampantly increase and no socio-economic strata.

No caste.

No creed No gender is devoid of the obesity is not because of the genetic obesity is because of the lifestyle changes Physical activity has suddenly changed all of a sudden we have been Doing less physical activity Mobility has gone down the township and cities are not built through the physical activity, right?

It is very very problematic the motorized transportation Yes, so these are the factors that have contributed to the rise in obesity over the decades But yes, the second part of my question was sir are men more at a risk of obesity Men I would not say Only the risk of the west even the women are also equally increase the risk of the obesity, right?

So probably we may neglect their health more and in any obese individual when I see a single obese individual from a family I tell everybody must be obese in the family because I will tell you things very simple analogy you will buy a sweet from a store for you by some sort of the Excess calorie food from store.

You can buy in some amount like 250 grams half kg 1 kg But that particular food when it will reach home There is a responsibility for members to finish their food and that analogy food will has to be finished because in the store You can throw after the expiry date, but at home people will consume it, right?

Continuous and ladies are very very More food for obesity because they will not like to waste the food material which they have been.

Yes And for any obesity control my first target is the female member of the family the whole because Family is the smallest unit of the society and that society makes the country as well Right, if you have to target obesity, you cannot individualize that particular.

Oh, no, no, no, you will eat different and the rest of the family Yes, yes All right, a very important point put forth by you dr. Mishra dr. Raheja I would want you to apprise us of the medical advancements that have been made in India with regard to tackling obesity Now we've seen the magnitude of this threat of this epidemic that is slowly spreading Get us more as to what is being done in India when we talk of obesity.

Yeah, basically, you know as our Honorable Prime Minister has Said the eating right?

So this is very very important.

This is the first step Which will go forward and this must start at the school level like in school We wish that this school canteen should serve the healthy meals Like not chola, bhatura, samosa and that tikki fried item should be out the school Canteen should serve the fruit salads or sprouts, you know healthy meals So also the parent should ensure what they are packing try to give the healthy homemade food options food in the morning when they are going to school and even people those who are going to office should carry their lunch box with healthy meals around and whenever like We are eating we must eat a lot of salads green leafy vegetables Fruits and vegetable.

I always say different colors of fruits and vegetables Particularly seasonal fruits and vegetables and Mota-anaj Unrefined no, no maida like, you know, which which can cause the increase in the high glycemic Index the if there should be less sugar.

Yes, whatever your jaggery is still contains less this thing Sucrose amount and avoid even you know white things, whatever white flour white Chini and white salt should be restricted and food rich in calorie dense should be avoided So I again repeat we be healthy stay healthy eat right sleep, right?

eat natural Stay stress-free and feel good esteem Yes, we can beat it if you work as a team and with public awareness and with the initiatives of the government I always say every government movement has to be supported by the public.

It is the government public involvement Yes, bhaji dhari what we say at the ground level It is we we have to follow it and we have to train our children and our spouse our friends Even teacher should spread that message parent should also go out and play so that children follow their parents So that is an extensive.

Yes, it's a long way, but we will definitely make it through Alright, so that was today.