Nagpur: "Statistics from the paediatrics associations show that 6% of adolescents in the eight metro cities of India are obese, with a BMI of over 40. Even if half of these children contract diabetes when just 17 or 18 years old, it will affect progress of the country," bariatric surgeon from Saifee Hospital Mumbai, Dr Muffazal Lakdawala told TOI.
Lakdawala was speaking on the sidelines of Dr Waradpande Oration he delivered at this year's annual conference of Academy of Medical Science, on Sunday.
Over 18% of all adolescents are overweight, he said, adding that adolescent obesity is high in India. "We Asians and Indians are pre-disposed to type 2 diabetes. If Indians compare themselves with persons from other countries having same BMI, our muscle mass and bone mass is less than our fat mass. Most of us suffer from Central Obesity, which we call as 'beer belly.' It is rapidly on the rise in India," he said.
Lakdawala underlined the cause of adolescent obesity to excess sugar in food. He said, "There is sugar in all forms. Even milk powder has 40% sugar, which is disguised under names such as 'malt syrup solids' or 'corn syrup liquids'. India is third among top five fat countries of the world. America tops the list, followed by China. We are second in the number of diabetics. If we merge both of them, there are a lot of people who suffer from diabesity."
"According to the Disease Control Centre of America, 40 types of cancer are linked to obesity," he added.
Prevention, he said, is the solution to obesity. "Losing weight should start from school, where a child's health is linked to his or her marks. We need to stop giving sugar to children, and focus on traditional foods such as jowar, bajra and millet in our diet," said Lakdawala.
