Fortis obesity support group gives tips on healthy living

Fortis obesity support group gives tips on healthy living

Experts discuss risks of obesity among pregnant women

In order to create awareness about problems caused from obesity, Fortis, Hospital (Mohali) hosted Samarthya, Obesity Support Group Meet at Fortis Hospital auditorium here. An expert panel of doctors from the hospital interacted with the audience and gave tips to tackle with obesity and live healthy life. 

During a discussion, Dr. Amit Garg, Consultant, Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery, Fortis Hospital, Mohali said, “Obesity is a chronic disease which is not ignorable. It gradually increases over the years, which leads to serious health problems such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, arthritis and certain cancer”.

He said that around 300 million people are suffering from obesity problem in the world and in India; Punjab is the most affected state with approximately 35 to 40 percent female and 30% male suffering from obesity. Dr. Garg added that a good lifestyle modification with good diet and exercise according to body requirement can certainly help to curb the obesity.

Talking about the Pre and Post Pregnancy complication with obesity, Dr. Swapna Misra, Additional Director, Gynecologist & Obstetrics, said, “ Pregnancy with obesity has a lot of complications and should not be taken lightly. It’s a very sensitive stage and before planning for a baby, women should manage weight, otherwise, it can lead to cardio-vascular, problems and osteoarthritis in women” . She stressed that overeating is the most common reason, which increases women weight during pregnancy and said that a study has shown that women being overweight can cause birth defects and many internal health issues to a child.

Sonia Gandhi, Head, Nutrition and Dietetics emphasized that obesity is curable with healthy disciplined eating and lifestyle modification. People should understand their body requirements and by following the right diet with physical exercise, weight control is manageable. She added that after surgery no medication or surgery can help to maintain the weight until we don’t follow discipline diet in our life.

Giving, diet mantras for weight management, she said, “People should consume more green vegetables with grain and fibre in their food, which should be rich in vitamins, protein and should try to avoid packaged food.