Kolkata:
About 30 million Indians are obese and around 20 per cent of school-going children are overweight, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS).
Prevalence of obesity is increasing in epidemic proportions worldwide especially in developed countries, and the problem in India is also increasing, the survey said.
Obesity raises the risk for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis, various types of cancers in women like breast cancer and uterus cancer, menstrual disorder and infertility and many more diseases, speakers attending a workshop on Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery here said.
Despite various modalities of treatment, including diet, exercise and drugs, it is 'Bariatric Surgery' (surgical procedures done for obesity) which induces permanent weight loss, speakers at the workshop claimed.
Recent data on Bariatric surgery shows its effects on glucose control soon after the procedure before a significant weight loss is achieved, surgeons attending the workshop said.
Thirty patients of 18-58 years of age were operated upon at ILS (Institute of Laparoscopic Surgery) hospital, Salt Lake, the venue of the workshop, in the past two years.
"The preoperative weights were in the range of 89-115 kg. The patients lost an average of 9 kg in one month, 23 kg in three months and 29 kg in six months after the surgery," the surgeons said.