Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai launches comprehensive Obesity and Bariatric Surgery programme

Programme to be led by one of Europe’s renowned Obesity, Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeon Mumbai, July 31, 2018: Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai today announced the launch of a comprehensive Obesity and Bariatric Surgery programme led by one of Europe’s renowned Obesity, Metabolic and Bariatric surgeon, Dr. Vigyan Jain, along with Internal Medicine Consultant, Dr. Sanjay Khare. The programme would take a one-of-its-kind approach in redefining obesity care and would be supported by a team of clinical nutritionists, physiotherapists and psychologists. Dr. Vigyan Jain, Consultant, Obesity and Bariatric Surgeon, Apollo Hospitals Navi Maumbai said, "Obesity is today a burgeoning lifestyle problem and a major health risk in that it can lead non-communicable diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Globally today, an estimated 1.5 billion adults are overweight or obese and this is expected to rise to more than 3 billion people by 2030. India today has over 30 million people with obesity and this is expected to rise to 70 million by 2025. A sedentary lifestyle reinforced by a carbohydrate-heavy and oil-rich Indian diet are the main contributing factors. The cost of this obesity is high as the expenditure on treating the diseases that arise from obesity are huge. The Obesity and Bariatric Surgery programme at Apollo Hospitals will address this major issue providing comprehensive management and treatment for obesity and related conditions.” Obesity is a medical condition caused due to the accumulation of excessive body fat. It can be measured by Body Mass Index (BMI), which is a ratio of weight to height and indicates the amount of body fat. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), the healthy range for BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9, with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 putting an individual into the overweight zone. However, the concern area comes in with a BMI of 30 or higher which is defined as obesity and globally, about 34 percent of the world’s adult population are overweight or obese. Dr. Sanjay Khare, Consultant, Physician, Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai said, “An analysis of 15234 individuals who underwent health check-ups at the hospital over the last year and a half indicates a dangerous trend towards obesity in adult males and females in the city. However, the major area of concern is that the percentage of obesity in the population is higher than the global average. While globally, about 34% of the world’s adult population is overweight or obese, our data shows a serious trend with over 42% of adults with a BMI that puts them in the obese category! With obesity a risk factor for many non-communicable diseases including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke, cancer, fatty liver disease, osteoarthritis and kidney disease, this needs to be addressed on a war footing.” The management and treatment for obesity needs to a take a comprehensive view of the patient’s condition. The main approach is a long term program of diet and exercise, with a goal to reach and stay at a healthy weight. However in certain cases, medication may need to be prescribed for weight loss. If these methods are not working out and in cases of extreme obesity with BMI of 40 and higher or a BMI above 35 with health problems such as diabetes or high blood pressure, weight loss surgery, that is, bariatric surgery can help. Elaborating on bariatric surgery, Dr. Vigyan Jain said, “Bariatric surgery can give magical results. Bariatric surgery works on the concept of causing weight loss by restricting the amount of food the stomach can hold, causing malabsorption of nutrients, or by a combination of both gastric restriction and malabsorption. Most weight loss surgeries today are performed using minimally invasive techniques like laparoscopic surgery. The Obesity and Bariatric Surgery programme will provide surgical options for patients that will include the gold standard of weight loss surgery, which is the Gastric Bypass. This is a complex operation in which a small pouch is created from the stomach and connected to the small intestine. After the surgery, the stomach will be smaller and the patient will feel full with less food. This will result in restriction of calorie intake and promote weight loss.”