0.6 CME

Beyond BMI: Visceral Fat, Genetic Testing, and Advanced Imaging

Speaker: Dr. Arun Prasad

Surgical Gastroenterologist, Bariatrics Surgeon, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals

Summary

Obesity management is a rapidly growing global issue. It's crucial to consider factors like body mass index (BMI), age, sex, and height-to-waist ratio when assessing obesity. A healthy height to waist ratio should be less than .8
Obesity has wide-ranging harmful effects on the body, impacting the brain, lungs, liver, heart, gallbladder, pancreas, and joints, also increasing cancer risk. India faces a paradox with both overweight and underweight populations.
The causes of obesity can be genetic, environmental, psychological, physical, or hormonal. The thrifty gene theory suggests that genes in the Indian subcontinent store fat due to historical famines. Also, the set point theory explains how the body tries to maintain a certain weight.
For fat loss, nutrition should constitute 70%, weight training 20%, and cardio 10% of the effort. The advice is to avoid starving and have no cooked meals after sunset. It is important to eat foods with low glycemic indexes to control insulin levels and fat storage.
Medical treatments for obesity include medications that improve the beta cell response of the pancreas to control diabetes and weight.
Surgical options include the placement of a gastric balloon by endoscopy, using a sewing machine to stitch the stomach to a smaller size by endoscopy, and a swallowable balloon, keyhole surgeries known as sleeve gasterectomy and bypass surgery. Robotic surgery is also an option.