JJ hosp to start obesity clinic, to focus on prevention, diagnosis and surgery
Mumbai: Apart from the outpatient clinics for patients with infectious diseases, heart or orthopaedic problems, the state govt-run JJ Hospital in Byculla will soon boast an
obesity clinic
.
"Considering the present-day health problems, we plan to open an obesity clinic that will function once a week," said JJ Hospital dean Dr Ajay Bhandarwar. It is estimated that in urban areas, almost 30% of the population is overweight or obese. However, according to the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5), 24% of Indian women and 23% of Indian men are overweight or obese. There has also been an increase in the percentage of children under five years who are overweight—from 2.1% in NFHS-4 (2015-16) to 3.4% in NFHS-5 (2019-2021) at an all-India level.
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"Obesity was earlier considered a condition among the wealthy, but in an age of fast food, the lower middle class is becoming obese. This is visible in our OPDs on a daily basis," said Dr Bhandarwar. With the growing recognition that obesity significantly increases the risk of several health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and osteoarthritis, there has been a lot of focus on medical and surgical options to contain the condition. "The anti-obesity pills don't have long-term safety data so far, and there are indications of organ damage in some cases," he said. Hence, the JJ obesity clinic will focus on diagnosis and prevention and also look at surgical options for obesity.
In 2012, the hospital started a
bariatric surgery
programme that was discontinued a few years later. However, the field has evolved with the emergence of minimally invasive anti-obesity surgeries. "At JJ, we now have a robotic arm that could help in bariatric surgery," said Dr Bhandarwar, who used to head the general surgery department before he became the dean. The hospital authorities are also trying to create awareness about the need to include robotic surgery for reimbursement in the state-run insurance scheme.
Public hospitals, traditionally overwhelmed with the burden of infectious diseases, have in recent times started focusing on lifestyle or
non-communicable diseases
.
While the BMC health department started a door-to-door survey to check for non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, its hospitals have 'NCD corners' where people can measure their blood sugar and blood pressure levels. BMC-run KEM Hospital in Parel recently started a fatty liver clinic.
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