Obesity woes: You may be older than your chronicle age

You may be actually quite older than your age. Don't get confused.

Doctors and nutrition experts say you may be far older metabolically speaking than your chronicle age. Your metabolic activity could be impacted if you are obese or not fit.

Losing those extra inches could mean a lot. It could solve metabolic syndrome, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, asthma and several other obesity-related health disorders.

This, in turn, would result in additional pressure on some vital organs. “An obese person's heart would be forced to pump and clean more blood than it is supposed to do, putting it to extra work,” Ms Rahat Khan of the US-based Fat2fit Wellness Centre, told Business Line .

This is a good business opportunity for fitness centres, hospitals and niche food suppliers. Machines to measure Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and ascertain body age (versus chronicle age) are beginning to appear in front of parks, hospitals and fitness centres.

These machines have generated enough interest at the three-day National Expo on Obesity Treatments 2011 here. Steady stream of visitors, mostly women, made a beeline at the 2-3 counters that are offering free body-age counters.

Obesity among kids

But solutions vary. While a fitness centre representative says one can set the imbalances right by doing physical exercises, the specialty food firm says its food that could correct the problem, if any.

Hospitals say, surgeries could offer a quick help to reduce those extra inches.

Dr Janaki B, Nutritionist, said about 30 per cent of all Indians were obese.

“But what is more worrying is obesity among children is assuming epidemic proportions.

Studies indicate that 20 per cent of all children were obese. This could result in serious health hazards in the later part of their life,” she told Business Line .

She claimed that at least 1-2 per cent of people would need “aggressive treatment” (means surgical intervention).

She, however, felt that this should be the last option. “By and large, obesity could be tackled by fine-tuning food habits and doing physical exercises,” she said.

On showcase at the expo are weight loss surgery solution from Ethicon Endo-Surgery of Johnson and Johnson Medical, sleeve gastrectomy (which involves removal of two-thirds of the stomach, restricting quantity of food intake) and laser slimming technique.

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