Obesity in women and the Indian scenario - a brief note

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Obesity is a universal problem and is not confined to one particular country. It is a sort of global epidemic ''It is a complex disease involving an excessive amount of body fat. Obesity isn't just a cosmetic concern. It is a medical problem that increases your risk of other diseases and health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and certain cancers'', according to Mayo Clinic, USA
Reasons may vary as to why some people  are bogged down with obesity and experience difficulty in getting rid of this ubiquitous medical problem. Various studies suggest it may be due to  hereditary, besides a combination of other factors may  augment obesity problems such as personal diet and exercise choices. One more fact is stressful environment that induces a  person to eat more. However, the main culprit is sedentary life which one can change if there is determination. The World Health Organization (WHO), studies mention that  there will be about 2.3 billion overweight people aged 15 years and above and over 700 million obese people worldwide in 2015. Overweight and obesity are the fifth leading risk of deaths, resulting in around 2.8 million deaths of adults globally every year. Once, obesity was a major concern in western developed countries and it already made inroads to developing nations like India.



The good news is modest weight loss can be achieved to reduce health risks to a great extent. Dietary habits, regular physical exercise and change in behavior can positively help you reduce tour weight. Medications and  weight-loss exercises are other options available. The most important thing is you must be resolute on your goal to reduce your weight.

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Obesity is more prevalent among women than men and  this increases a woman’s risk of  cancer.  It is mentioned that a woman is prone  to seven types of cancers  such as  breast, pancreatic, bowel, kidney  by 40 percent. The startling news is   because the pregnant  mother is obese, a large number of  newborns are at risk of stroke, heart disease, diabetes and asthma in adulthood \. In 2014,  about 10 million men were obese in India but the number of obese women was  twice - 20 million.

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The following are essential facts that need to be taken seriously: \

01. According to
Pan-India survey done by AIIMS and Dr Anoop Misra,  two in three women in metros and every eighth woman in Indian villages are overweight or obese.

02. 60 percent urban women are vulnerable to heart disease for various reasons besides leading a stressful city life, they are more vulnerable to air-pollution as the urban tree cover is not good enough to absorb micro-particle pollutants.

03. More than men, working  Indian women do not feel comfortable at work place because of fat-bias and the same persists in personal personal life as well. When BMI tips the scale at 27, 

the less said; watch out for  vicious cycle of emotional eating triggered by  depression because you can’t lose weight. It won't happen overnight. Make sincere efforts and keep going, slowly you will realize you are losing body weight.

04. In India, five women vis-a-vis one man  have depression and. Psychiatrists point out  many depressed women are obese.

05. In the case of Obese Indian women, generally speaking don’t look half as huge as their Western counterparts. The surprising fact is we have much more fat than muscle at the same body mass index. Scientists say Indian are  designed in way as to  live with less calories than the developed nations. 

05. Centuries ago though we were fairly nourished, both men and women did lots of physical work at home and away from home. Family women, in the past were active at home and they never ever used modern kitchen gadgets to prepare daily food.  

06. The incidence of obesity among both urban/ rural woman is high. Of course, men are no exception and this being due to exposure  to calorie rich food loaded with fat. 

07.  Obesity in India that prevailed among rich families in the past is found in all strata of the society and in some cases it spiraling up out of control. Over 30 million people in India are obese.
https://www.thequint.com/fit/flex-em/obesity-in-women-world-anti-obesity-day-in-pregnancy-women-are-at-the-heart-of-obesity-epidemic-in-india
 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obesity/symptoms-causes/syc-20375742