A private hospital in Chennai on Sunday launched endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty for obesity treatment. The equipment would perform bariatric surgery endoscopically, reducing hospital stay, according to T.S. Chandrasekar, founder chairman MedIndia Hospital.
Three out of four people in India are overweight, and it is a cause for concern, he said, adding that the second highest number of obese children at 14.4 million are in India. As much as 136 million Indians are overweight, with as much as 73% of them being in urban areas.
In Tamil Nadu, 14% of the adolescent population is obese, while the National Family Health Survey 4 has stated that 33.6% women and 31.3% men in the city are obese, he added. Sedentary lifestyle, globalisation and lack of physical activity had led to lifestyle diseases that were until the 20th Century confined to western, developed countries.
S.N. Narasingan, senior consultant physician, delivered the 10th MedIndia Oration on Obesity and Liver. A demonstration of the equipment and medical conference for family practitioners, consultant physicians and surgeons from north Chennai was also held.
