1 in every 3 women suffers total obesity: Findings at Manipal Hospitals, Ghaziabad

Ghaziabad, July 31, 2022: The obesity epidemic is unquestionably the world's greatest and least-controlled public health emergency. Given the rising prevalence of overweight and obesity in adults, adolescents, and children, it is entirely appropriate to classify this issue as a global epidemic. The World Obesity Atlas 2022, published by the World Obesity Federation, predicts that one billion people globally, including 1 in 5 women & 1 in 7 men, will be living with obesity by 2030.
 
In a recent random prevalence survey done by Dr. Vinieta Diwakar, Consultant Obstetrics and Gynecology of Manipal Hospitals, Ghaziabad, it was found that every 1 in 3 women in Ghaziabad and nearby areas are suffering from undiagnosed obesity. A total of 500 women living in urban areas were taken randomly within the age group of 21 years to 50 years, belonging to upper and middle strata., non-pregnant, reporting in for a routine checkup for gynaecological complaints between January’2020 to March’2022.
 
During this survey, Body Mass Index (BMI) was used as a tool to filter and categorize the number of patients under each condition, i.e., underweight (<18.5), normal weight (18.5 to 24.9), overweight (25 to 29.9) and total obesity (>30). It was found that out of 500 patients, around 166 (33.20%) patients were suffering from total obesity, 201 (40.20%) were in the overweight category, and 129 (25.8%) were under the BMI range of normal weight.

According to Dr. Vinieta Diwakar, Consultant Obstetrics and Gynecology of Manipal Hospitals, Ghaziabad, "Almost every aspect of the behaviors & the metabolism affecting weight gain & the responses to negative & positive energy balance, are heritable. Know your family history, prevent the preventable obesity & its sequel comorbidities in your generation as well as future generations. Overweight & obesity act as a predisposing factor for non-communicable diseases such as infertility (difficulty in conceiving), diabetes, hypertension, cardiac disease, musculoskeletal disorders & cancers of breast, ovary, prostate, liver, gall bladder, colon. Affecting health of your incoming generation by negative impact on pregnancy outcomes. Interestingly these all can be prevented by preventing or controlling the overweight & obesity.

“We need to understand that getting screened for overweight and obesity by measuring BMI should be a part of our routine physical examination. Knowing your BMI status will assist your doctor in determining the impact of extra weight on your health in the present and future. This was a random prevalence survey, but the figures are significant and eye-opening. This survey shows that there are a lot of women who have still not gotten themselves screened for obesity and could be at high health risk" she added.

The utmost priority is the need for comprehensive lifestyle changes like customized diet, workout, physical & mental relaxation, and sleep hygiene. Remember, that reducing your weight is more of a mental challenge than a physical challenge. Maintaining the reduced weight not only decreases the risk of comorbidities associated with obesity, but interestingly, it can also prevent negative health impact on pregnancy outcomes and reduce health risks for the next generation.