India facing obesity epidemic: experts

Morbid obesity has acquired epidemic proportions in the country with 5 per cent of the population suffering from it.
This is only the tip of an iceberg and the incidence is growing, according to medical experts. Latest treatment protocols to combat obesity and other lifestyle diseases will be discussed by specialists from India, the United States and the United Kingdom at an international three-day CME beginning here on Friday. The meet to be inaugurated by Minister for Medical Education Galla Aruna will also focus on ‘Obesity, Heart, Hypertension, Diabetes and Lipids (OHHDL).
Talking to reporters here on Thursday, P. Naveen Chander Reddy and Nagarjun of Mediciti Hospitals, the organisers of the conference, said that recent study found that the problem of obesity was high among schoolchildren in Hyderabad. Lifestyle changes and intake of high calorie food were among the causes associated with morbid obesity.
ComplicationsThey said that OHDDL diseases could cause serious log-term morbidity, disability and complications.
But, if detected early, the ailments could be treated and complications prevented. India had the largest diabetic population in the world--about 33 million-- and the WHO had projected the number would reach 100 million by 2020. It had also predicted that the country, by then, would have an equal number of heart patients. About 500 delegates comprising doctors, post-graduate students and government representatives will participate in the meet which will help standardise management protocols.