Mumbai: Doctors at the state-run JJ Hospital will now treat lifestyle diseases such as obesity. As part of its obesity awareness campaign, the state government has inaugurated the hospital’s first obesity clinic on Tuesday. The doctors there claim that they have seen a 30 per cent rise in obese patients in the last two decades and there has been a rise in patients coming in for obesity treatment and bariatric surgeries.
Along with the clinic, doctors at the hospital will also conduct a survey ending on December 29. Further, it will be compulsory in state-run medical colleges across various districts of Maharashtra to have Body Mass Index (BMI) testing for all patients in the outpatients department (OPD).
According to Dr Ajay Bhandarwar, head of the department, JJ Hospital, “This is a one-of-a-kind initiative. We need to take steps to curb a life-threatening condition among the current generation.”
He added: “Every medical institute within the state will now have a dedicated obesity clinic. We have 30 per cent obese people who visit our department for treatment.”
Minister Girish Mahajan said, “We hope that this month-long campaign will help develop a healthier nation, to fight the increasing prevalence of obesity and serious lifestyle diseases.”
Mr Mahajan said: “The state government has formed a task force that will work on awareness, correction, prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of the disease.”
Doctors have said that a growing number of obesity cases is a warning sign that the threat posed by the disease needs to be combated with preventive measures.
