PANAJI
Speaking at the IFSCO APC OSSICON 2017 conclave, organising secretary and renowned laproscopic and bariatric surgeon, Dr Jayshree Todkkar presented a two-step plan to address the increasing problem of obesity and diabetes.
“The two demands from this conclave are to declare obesity a disease so that low and medium income people aren’t neglected, and the other is to have a proper food labeling in place,” informed Dr Todkkar.
With the rising number of obese and diabetic patients in the country, Dr Todkkar added that it affected not only the rich but the poor and middle income families as well.
“The responsibility is huge, but the scientific society can help. With the issue of food labeling, accurate and precise information of food items should be put in place so that people know the good, bad and ugly in what they’re eating,” she pointed out.
Dr Todkkar pointed to the prevalence and rise in chronic non-communicable diseases (NCD) such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, obesity and cancer. In India, the burden of NCDs is tremendous, which has led to an increase in health care costs, of which 40 per cent are hospital stays while OPD visits constitute 35 per cent.
For patients with BMIs higher than 35, the only answer is bariatric surgery, but these are expensive. Bariatric surgeries cost anywhere between Rs 2.5 to Rs 5 lakh to reduce the stomach size with a gastric band or through removal of a portion of the stomach. The different types of bariatric surgeries include gastric sleeve and gastric bypass.
In a study conducted in the state of Maharashtra where 16 per cent of the 112 million population is obese, it was found that the average monthly expenditure of an obese individual on medical treatment was around Rs 30,000. 50 per cent of these patients spent between Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 every month, while 4 per cent shelled out more than Rs 1,00,000 per month, including surgeries. It was also found that 18.1 per cent of the female population and 15.9 per cent of the male population was obese.
Comparatively, Goa despite being smaller than Maharashtra has a higher incidence of obesity. According to the recently published National Family Health Survey 4 (NFHS4), the number of women that were overweight or obese rose from 20.2 per cent (during NFHS 3 held for 2005-06) to 33.5 per cent. Among men, the number increased from 15.5 per cent to 32.6 per cent.
As part of the initiative of the conclave, the Society of India (OSSI) and the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders, who organized the event, will send a roadmap to reduce the obesity numbers in the country with plans to be implemented at the state level.
