Obesity has become the single biggest reason for type 2 diabetes in India and the world. Most of this is due to the increasing sedentary lifestyle and abnormal eating habits. Even though most people blame new-age lifestyle as the cause for obesity, it’s primarily due to the mindless eating and lack of general awareness of oneself that is accelerating the process of becoming obese. Being Obese is an early sign that the body is out of balance and if left uncheck it can lead greater problems like Type-2 diabetes. Diabetes in turn is an early sign of greater things to come like Heart attack and various other ailments.
So how does one know if he or she is actually OBESE?
To know if someone is Obese or Normal, we generally calculate BMI. Anyone with a BMI greater than 30 is considered Obese. The chart below shows the classification
Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
Overweight = 25–29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater
Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
Overweight = 25–29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater
Most people find it difficult to keep a track of ones BMI. Well for all such people there is am more basic way to calculate if one is overweight or Obese. Its starts by knowing the height and the below formula gives the normal weight of a person.
Normal weight of a Female (Kg) = Height in cm – 105
Normal weight of a Male (Kg) = Height in cm – 100
1-3 Kgs above or below is fine this value is still Normal. However, if someone is
5-6 Kgs above is considered overweight.
10 Kgs+ is considered Obese with high chance of Type-2 Diabetes.
Once the body weight goes above 5 Kg it is important to start taking corrective steps and bring the weight to normal. If the person is unable to bring the weight under-control, he/she must visit a dietician.
How can one prevent Obesity & Obesity linked ailments like Diabetes?
Well to explain this let’s take the example of one of our patients who was over 100Kgs and was in a pre-diabetic stage before he came to us. Amit (name changed) is your typical 29 year old professional & a father of a 1 year old baby working 11am to 11pm. Staying close to his office he would get up by am, gets-up, eats his normal home cooked breakfast (in 5mins), then goes to the office and takes his home cooked lunch and also enjoyed his canteen food. In the evening around 5:30pm he would have a samosa or other fast-food. He would also have coffee from the inhouse coffee vending machine every few hours. After going home at 11pm he would have his dinner and then go to sleep. This routine has been continuing for some years now. Eventually his weight jumped to almost 110 Kgs. Consequently, he would feel sleepy and tired most of the time. At times he would even douse off at work without even realising it. Concerned, he might dose off while sleeping let alone lose his job. His boss recommended him to visit a doctor. That’s when he came across Sweet Clinics.
When we did a complete body check-up for him we realised he was excessively overweight and had a high blood sugar level, cholesterol level. Based on the reports our in-house Obesity consultant Mrs. Pratiksha Kadam carefully analysed his daily lifestyle in detail. Knowing very well that he cannot change his work schedule. She suggested subtle lifestyle & dietary changes to bring his obesity in control.
- Lifestyle Changes: She suggested Amit to get up a little early by 7-7:30 am and go for a walk for upto 1 hour. It’s not easy for a 100 Kg person to walk 1hour on the 1st day it-self. Amit was suggested to start by walking only for 5-10 mins then taking rest for 5-10mins. Progressing according to reach bigger milestones. At work he was asked to find ways that could help reduce his sitting hours, when possible. Try to take stairs instead of lifts when possible. That’s It!
- Dietary Changes: Amit was a foodie and he truly enjoyed what he ate, in fact he loved it so much he would gulp it down in minutes. The first thing he was asked to do was take atleast 30 min to finish his food. He was also suggested subtle changes in his eating habits, like
- At lunch he was to have only what he had got from home and not combine it with canteen food.
- Amit used to drink a lot of coffee to stay awake. However, once he started his weight reduced coupled with the morning walk his dependency on it reduced. He was further advised to try replacing his evening coffee with chaas (which is more nourishing and the probiotics keep the stomach healthy). Doing this also made him less hungry in the evening which further restricted his evening snacking.
- He was asked to have his dinner at work around 8pm and after reaching home at 11 in the night.
- He was already having a good nutritious breakfast so no changes were made there
Just by following these subtle changes he was able to reduce his weight from 110 to 80 in just 6-8 months. His blood sugar levels were back to normal and he significantly reduced his chances of diabetes and other ailments.
Obesity can easily be brought in check by just being awareness of one’s actions and making the right choices. One can shed the extra weight by making subtle changes in one’s life like, going for a stroll for an hour at-least and being more mindful of when and what they eat.
At times people are not sure how to go about the change or are unable to reduce their weight even by improving their eating habits. At such times its best to visit an obesity consultant who can understand in detail the daily lifestyle and eating habits. Hence, identifying why the person is not able to reduce weight. Consequently, guiding the person on what changes to make in his eating and life to bring about the change he/she wants… i.e. to lose weight and prevent obesity related complications.
