Obesity rates have increased all over the world. However amongst males obesity has a direct correlation with the increased risk of those same five diseases in the report.
Most Indian males have succumbed to a sedentary lifestyle and resultant obesity. Doorstep services, long hours in the office, and instant food have taken away space from the traditional, healthy eating styles. The impact this combination has had on their health is immense, with still many not knowing the serious consequences attached to it, which can even be fatal. Having become so common that it feels like it is not a great danger, obesity indeed is—the annual number of death contributions from being overweight and obese amounts to 2.8 million. Among them in India, 26 million men are fighting with this problem, and the gravity of the situation needs to be acknowledged.
Five Diseases Related To Obesity You Have Probably Never Heard About:
Diabetes
Over 101 million people in India are afflicted with diabetes out of which 27% of Indian men with abdominal obesity face a higher threat of developing diabetes. It is a situation where your blood sugar-glucose is too high, which states how abdominal obesity can initiate a chain reaction of serious health issues.
Heart Diseases
Men of a BMI over 40 stand almost three times the chance of a heart attack, stroke, or any other major heart disorder. So, if you have excess weight around your waist, it results in blocked arteries feeding your heart that, in turn, cause numerous heart diseases.
High Blood Pressure
About 34.1% of obese males in India suffering from age group 15-54 years suffer from high blood pressure. Abdominal obesity causes strain on the cardiovascular system, and hence it becomes even harder to control blood pressure, making hypertension a time bomb, especially when left unchecked.
Also read: How Does PCOS Affect Heart Health? Know Risk And Prevention Tips
Osteoarthritis
It is the most common form of joint disease, affecting the hands, knees, hips, back, and neck. Even a mere 10 pounds of extra weight can put an additional 30 to 60 pounds of pressure on your knees with each stride. That is an awful lot of pressure! Men who are overweight have nearly a five-fold increase in their chances to develop osteoarthritis in their knees, showing how important weight is in considering joint health.
Enlarged Prostate (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia)
It is seen in nearly half of the men by the age of 51 to 60 years and in more than 90% by over 80 years. Obesity is very common among Indian men, with 2.6 crore men being obese, yet very few are aware of its impact on prostate health. Obesity sets off a cascade of events in the body, promoting other issues like increased intra-abdominal pressure, hormonal imbalances, increased nervous system arousal, inflammation, and oxidative stress. So, when all these occur simultaneously, then there is the perfect storm to produce BPH.
Treatments:
“Given its widespread prevalence and severity, it is really very important to understand your treatment options,” said Dr. Karthik Damodharan, Director of the Department of Vascular & Interventional Radiology at MIOT International. Though surgery has long been considered the only practical treatment for BPH, there are now many non-surgical options that have become available. Prostate Artery Embolization (PAE) is another management option for the treatment of BPH. PAE can be administered by an IR using a slender tube under local anesthesia, through the superficial artery of the upper thigh, or through an artery at the wrist. Utilizing the moving X-rays as direction, the IR guides the tube towards the prostate supply arteries and injects minuscule beads through the tube. These beads decrease the supply of blood to the prostate, hence causing it to shrink. When the patients are overweight, they experience numerous health problems, including the above-mentioned BPH which makes them high-risk candidates for surgery and general anaesthesia. These are procedures very well suited for them because they are local anaesthesia procedures.
