New Delhi [India], Mar. 15 : Obesity in India has been increasing at an alarming rate over the past three decades.

India is under siege; junk food, alcohol and sedentary lifestyle are leading us to silent self-destruction, making one in every five Indian men and women either obese or overweight.

According to a study published in the noted journal Lancet, India is just behind US and China in this global hazard list of top 10 countries with highest number of obese people.

Excessive weight is also associated with increasing health problems, including blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular ailments. Lifestyle disorders force more and more people to reel under excess body weight with less or no time for exercise. Also with acute obesity and associated health problem, it becomes increasingly difficult to exercise and diet

According to a meta-analysis study, people who have a lot of weight to lose, weight-loss surgery appears more effective than diet and exercise and individuals allocated to bariatric surgery lost more body weight on average compared with nonsurgical treatment, and had higher remission rates of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, said study author from the Basel Institute for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Switzerland.

Dr Atul N C Peters, Director, Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, Fortis Hospital said, "Bariatric Surgery is a procedure performed on people who have obesity. Weight loss is achieved by reducing the size of the stomach with a gastric band or through removal of a portion of the stomach or by resecting and re-routing the small intestines to a small stomach pouch."

He further suggested "Surgery advised only for those people who have failed to lose weight after genuine weight loss attempt or who have a BMI of more than 32.5, if they are suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure and dyslipidemia etc. Diabetic patients, whose diabetes are not under control in spite of supervised medical treatment can undergo this surgery even at a BMI of as low as 27.5."

Here're some important points one need to keep in mind, if he/she is going for a Bariatric Surgery:

- Age group limit for surgery - It is advisable to restrict this surgery from 18 yrs to 70 yrs, however in selected cases the age is not a bar.

- Medical Conditions - There are no specific medical condition which prohibit this surgery, except for advance heart disease or a cancer patient who are under treatment. Some persons suffering from psychological disorders require counseling and treatment before taking them up for surgery.

- Surgery Involves - It involves certain modification in the digestive system where the capacity to eat excessively is corrected, In addition the digestive process is modified, resulting in release of beneficial hormones which cause further weight loss, cure diabetes and provide overall health benefits.

- Changes in Lifestyle and Eating Habits - Need to develop healthy eating habits and develop a liking for foods like vegetables and fruits. Learn to eat in moderation and make wise food choices. The meals are small in size and frequent for the initial phase but gradually one can eat a normal diet in moderation.

- Different Affects of Surgery in Men/ Women - Surgery is equally beneficial in both women and men, however in women of child bearing age it has specific benefits in improving fertility, carrying the pregnancy and safe child birth.

- Benefits of weight loss surgery - It not only enhances the sense of well being, social acceptance, prevention of life threatening complications for example un-timely heart attacks, diabetes and its complication, sleep apnea etc and it also prevents certain cancers for e.g. breast, colon and prostate.

- Major Risks Involved - Bariatric Surgery is very safe, if done at high volume centre, by competent surgeons, in fact the risk of this surgery is equal to or even lower than certain routine surgeries like hysterectomies. This surprising fact has been revealed in a scientific survey recently.

- Tips to be taken care before and after surgery - Young girls should not plan their family for about an year after undergoing this surgery. The patients are advised to follow the post discharge advice very diligently and they have to maintain a regular physical activity schedule and get back to their normal lifestyle and work routine as soon as possible. There is no specific considerations pre surgery. There is no special advice for low cal diet restriction pre surgery. (ANI)