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Obesity can increase metabolic and cardiovascular disease, says review
Posted on: 29/Aug/2016 10:04:16 AM
An article titled Obesity, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases in India: Public Health Challenges was published in the Current Diabetes Review. The article claims that the presence of body fat, abdominal fat, pancreatic fat and a lower lean mass than white people are contributing to more metabolic and cardiovascular disease in Indians. According to the article, the categorisation of obesity based on BMI levels, as used in the West, does not accurately reflect the metabolic risk in Indians. According to experts, a clear political will and concerted efforts from multiple stakeholders could help counter the increasingly difficult challenge.
Speaking about this, experts said, We found nutrition and lifestyle transitions as primary reasons for the increase in non-communicable diseases, including coronary heart disease and type-2 diabetes, in India. Such diseases cause nearly 5.8 million deaths per year in the country. Though it is difficult to reverse and decrease the pace at which these diseases are affecting Indians, it is not impossible. To tackle the juggernaut of diabetes and heart disease in India, innovative strategies are aggressively needed. One such move is preventive and management care at the doorsteps of the underserved population using customised mobile vans, which we have used successfully in Delhi.
The article said that experts felt that concerted efforts from multiple stakeholders, intensely focused attention from health officials and clear political will could help counter this increasingly difficult challenge. According to the article, written after the compilation of various studies conducted at national and international level, the South Asian region - hich is home to more than 1.7 billion people - is currently experiencing a marked demographic transition characterised by declining birth and death rates and an increasingly ageing population. This increase in longevity has led to a rapid increase in the prevalence of NCDs like CVD, diabetes (78 million cases in 2015), cancer, and chronic pulmonary disease, due in large part to increasing lifetime exposure to risk factors.
