Hyderabad: Abdominal obesity is a rising concern even for those in their early 20s. They complain of belly fat, one of the major reasons for early onset of lifestyle diseases.
The Nutrition Society of India found that in urban areas, the incidence of abdominal obesity was as high as 75 per cent. The society collected data on 15 million people across 20 cities from January to July this year.
About 50 per cent of the people aged from 20 to 35 years who visited nutritionists complained of some form of medical condition and the most common was thyroid malfunction, polycystic ovary syndrome and diabetes. Of these people, 75 per cent were obese and wanted to lose weight while 15 per cent had normal body mass index.
Ms P. Jyostna, senior nutritionist, who evaluated the data said they were aware of their condition and wanted to lose weight in the abdominal region. Twenty per cent of the people had tried their own methods at home while others were found to jump from one form of exercise to another.
“The latter is not the right method as they need to stick to one mode and understand the balance between food and activity to bring down their weight,” she said. Abdominal obesity is correlated with many health risks including cardiovascular risk, insulin resistance and other lifestyle diseases.
Nutritionist M Ridhima said, “People need to understand their diet and activity pattern so that their weight can be controlled. There have also been 10 per cent of cases of over-exercising which is harmful. Chronic health issues due to work pattern, timings and nature of work are also one of the reasons for growing abdominal obesity.” Patients have been advised to opt for low-carbohydrate diet, gluten free and lean meat proteins, fruits, nuts and also whole grain foods.
