Indian surgeon warns subcontinent to watch out for obesity epidemic
South East Asia News.Net
Wednesday 28th February, 2007 (ANI)
Karachi, Feb.28 : An Indian surgeon who has been championing the use of bariatric surgery, has warned that the Indian subcontinent faces the problem of an obesity epidemic if corrective steps are not taken immediately.
Addressing the 23rd annual Congress of the Pakistan Society of Gastroenterology and Gastro-Intestinal Endoscopy here, Dr. Pradeep Chowbey said that the number of overweight people in India, 2.1 billion, was equal to the number of underweight people.
"Morbid obesity is the mother of many other ailments such as Type-II diabetes, gall stones, coronary heart disease, hypertension, cancer and arthritis," the Daily Times quoted Chowbey as saying.
According to the World Health Organisation, the number of obese people in developing countries is about 1.15 billion.
The WHO also says in its latest press release, that the number of overweight children has doubled and overweight adolescents have trebled over the last two decades. Recent surveys conducted in schools of Delhi found as much as 30 percent of children to be overweight. Over 70 percent of these children if not treated will grow into obese adults.
Dr. Chowbey also warned that people with morbid obesity don't respond to medicines, can't exercise due to excessive weight and find it difficult to cut their quantity of food, and therefore bariatric surgery is seen as the only viable option for these patients.
Through bariatric surgery, the patient reduces about 8-10 kg every month and can reach a normal weight within 1-2 years with most of the diseases either disappearing or significantly improving, Dr.Chowbey claimed.
There are three types of surgical procedures routinely performed for treating Morbid Obesity: Restrictive - LAGB (Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band), VBG (Vertical Banded Gastroplasty); Combined - Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass; Malabsorptive - BPD ( Bilio-Pancreatic Diversion ), BPD and DS (Duodenal Switch) and Restrictive with an Adjustable Gastric Band.
The last one is the least invasive procedure possible amongst all bariatric surgeries. It is accomplished by placing a silastic band around the upper part of the stomach to create a tiny stomach pouch. Hence early satiety is attained. The band is adjustable, that is, it can be inflated or deflated with saline via the access port placed subcutaneously and fixed to the rectus sheath. It is preferred in less obese patient.
Chowbey, who is the chairman of the Minimal Access and Bariatric Surgery Centre at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, is in the Guinness Book of Records 1997 for performing the maximum number of minimal access surgeries. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2002.
http://www.southeastasianews.net/story/231015
South East Asia News.Net
Wednesday 28th February, 2007 (ANI)
Karachi, Feb.28 : An Indian surgeon who has been championing the use of bariatric surgery, has warned that the Indian subcontinent faces the problem of an obesity epidemic if corrective steps are not taken immediately.
Addressing the 23rd annual Congress of the Pakistan Society of Gastroenterology and Gastro-Intestinal Endoscopy here, Dr. Pradeep Chowbey said that the number of overweight people in India, 2.1 billion, was equal to the number of underweight people.
"Morbid obesity is the mother of many other ailments such as Type-II diabetes, gall stones, coronary heart disease, hypertension, cancer and arthritis," the Daily Times quoted Chowbey as saying.
According to the World Health Organisation, the number of obese people in developing countries is about 1.15 billion.
The WHO also says in its latest press release, that the number of overweight children has doubled and overweight adolescents have trebled over the last two decades. Recent surveys conducted in schools of Delhi found as much as 30 percent of children to be overweight. Over 70 percent of these children if not treated will grow into obese adults.
Dr. Chowbey also warned that people with morbid obesity don't respond to medicines, can't exercise due to excessive weight and find it difficult to cut their quantity of food, and therefore bariatric surgery is seen as the only viable option for these patients.
Through bariatric surgery, the patient reduces about 8-10 kg every month and can reach a normal weight within 1-2 years with most of the diseases either disappearing or significantly improving, Dr.Chowbey claimed.
There are three types of surgical procedures routinely performed for treating Morbid Obesity: Restrictive - LAGB (Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band), VBG (Vertical Banded Gastroplasty); Combined - Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass; Malabsorptive - BPD ( Bilio-Pancreatic Diversion ), BPD and DS (Duodenal Switch) and Restrictive with an Adjustable Gastric Band.
The last one is the least invasive procedure possible amongst all bariatric surgeries. It is accomplished by placing a silastic band around the upper part of the stomach to create a tiny stomach pouch. Hence early satiety is attained. The band is adjustable, that is, it can be inflated or deflated with saline via the access port placed subcutaneously and fixed to the rectus sheath. It is preferred in less obese patient.
Chowbey, who is the chairman of the Minimal Access and Bariatric Surgery Centre at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, is in the Guinness Book of Records 1997 for performing the maximum number of minimal access surgeries. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2002.
http://www.southeastasianews.net/story/231015