Simply speaking, obesity indicates a weight greater than what is considered healthy. Obesity is a chronic condition defined by an excess amount of body fat and is best explained in terms of the “body mass index” (BMI). BMI is your weight (in kilogrammes) over your height squared (in centimetres). BMI is strongly correlated with total body fat content. Anyone who has a BMI of 18-24 is considered normal, a BMI of 25-30 is overweight and a BMI over 30 stokes obesity. An individual is “morbidly obese” if she/he has a BMI of 40 or more.
Obesity makes you more prone to heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, some cancers, gallstones, osteoarthritis, gout, breathing problems, such as sleep apnea (when a person stops breathing for short episodes during sleep) and asthma. This article focuses on two recent cases that garnered the headlines: one lost excessive weight without surgery; the other, with the help of a “sleeve gastrectomy”.
Anant Ambani, the son of Mukesh and Nita Ambani, was morbidly obese carrying weight in excess of 100 kgs. His obesity was apparently caused by the medication he took for his chronic asthma. Doctors had warned that losing weight by natural means would be an uphill task, but the young man was determined to become fit by his 21st birthday. He is currently a junior at Brown University in the US and his journey is nothing short of inspirational. It is a reminder that with hard work, discipline, dedication and focus, anything is possible.
Vinod Channa, his trainer, scotched rumours that he underwent bariatric surgery. “It was a long and steady 18-month journey for him, with all its accompanying highs and lows. Whatever weight he has shed came through regular workouts and diet. In my 22-year career, I have never seen a person with so much dedication,” Channa told Business Insider. Anant focused on yoga, cardio and functional training. “During the first phase, his nutrition included protein, low carbs, fibres, etc. We started walking from 30 minutes to two hours, depending on his capacity. For resistance training, we added supporting equipment like the leg press and chest press. He consumed only 1200 calories in a day; lots of vegetables, sprouts, cottage cheese, lentils, pulses and a half teaspoon of ghee.”
But as the trainer explained: “Anant is also human and he had his weak moments.” When questioned about those moments, and whether Anant ever thought about giving up, Channa said, “It is not possible to lose a certain amount of weight daily. His lifestyle, like late nights and hormonal changes as well as other issues, could make him gain 200-300 grams which made him feel de-motivated at times. He would be tense about his workout and diet routine. He wanted a diet plan that would make him lose weight every single day, which was impossible.” Channa added that “Anant was dedicated and strict with his diet which is very difficult for an individual who has a past history of over-eating junk food. I would give him break diets so that he felt motivated for regular workouts. Workout sessions over time became fun and enjoyable for him.” Today, his mother especially, is jubilant about her son’s colossal loss of weight.
Eman Ahmed, an Egyptian lady weighed about 5 kg when she was born and started to put on weight by the age of 11. She had to discontinue her schooling after Class 5 due to lethargy caused by thyroid problems. The continuous weight gain restricted her lower extremities and she started to crawl instead of walking. In 2014, when she weighed 300 kg, Eman had high cholesterol levels and a sudden stroke left her paralysed, impacting her speech and leaving her completely bedridden. By 2016, she weighed about 500kgs and was diagnosed with severe lymphedema and water retention, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hypothyroidism. She had severe obstructive and restrictive lung disease and gout.
In a bed created for her by Egyptian artisans, Eman travelled via an EgyptAir freighter aircraft Airbus 300-600 to Mumbai. She was brought to Saifee Hospital in an open-air truck to be placed under the care of noted laparoscopy bariatric surgeon, Dr Muffazal Lakdawala. After painstaking studies, she underwent “a sleeve gastrectomy” after which she lost 100 kilos. She was later transported to an Abu-Dhabi hospital. The treatment expenses have been provided by crowd-funding on a pro-bono basis. It is thought that Eman suffers from a monogenic syndrome, where mutations in a particular gene cause the excess build-up of body fat.
It is so easy to put on weight but it requires hard work and will-power to bring down those excess kilos, especially the “paunch” obesity — the most harmful of all. When faced with obesity, it is necessary to start dieting and exercising sooner than later. While bariatric surgery (surgery done with the goal of weight reduction) offers hope for the morbidly obese, Anant’s saga, is a shining example for all of us. And now that the secret is out, let’s get motivated remembering that with Anant there was no magic or surgery involved. It was sheer willpower and determination!
If you have too much fat on you, do not be complacent. It is time for you to gear up and get on the track presto!
(Dr Francisco Colaço is a seniormost consulting physician, pioneer of Echocardiography in Goa)
