– Dr Anjali Sharma –
– Dr Anjali Sharma –Ever since the lockdown was imposed the transformed lifestyle has added to the obesity and associated risks. The unprecedented restrictions due to COVID infection have led people to stay more at home in order to reduce infection spread. But as a result work from home routine, sedentary lifestyle, binge eating, lesser physical activities, couch potato lifestyle are some factors directly influencing obesity data. This should also be called a paradox that obesity is already an epidemic in India, a study confirms that India’s obesity is increasing faster than the world average, also it was recorded that the cases of obesity had doubled in 10 years before 2016. The results of this epidemic may prevail in diverse area of diseases like diabetes, Cardiac diseases etc. especially the data about obese children is more than disappointing, according to a study of 2017 states that India has the second highest number of obese children in the world. At the same time fat people are considered “healthy” in some sections of society. Hence first we need to change our basic approach in this regard and then look for the changes.
Obesity is not merely excessive amount of fat on someone’s body rather it is– a reflection of entire lifestyle pattern–, certain health conditions and the diseases the person gets prone to. Basically excessive fat in body increases the level of cholesterol, it affects the blood supply to the heart and may result in heart diseases, also the same excessive weight puts extra pressure on blood vessels which may lead to BP problems, diabetes, stroke and also causes dysfunction of other organs causing hyperthyroidism, hormonal imbalance, liver issues, back pains, joint pains, etc.
Hence first of all major section of our Indian society should understand that obesity is not “healthy” it rather is a serious “health condition” which is at increase during this pandemic.
Pandemic stress and overeating:-Binge eating is also very much associated to the level of stress, which ultimately results in obesity. You must have often heard in some cases of depression people crave to eat more. The same can be said in the time of pandemic we are living indoors, Economic crisis, family issues, uncertain future, stress of losing jobs, fear of instability etc. have also added to the level of stress and aggravated mental health issues. Eating so called delicious food gives temporary reliefs but if not managed with daily physical activities or eaten abnormally it will only lead to hypertension, diabetes etc. Also keep your stress level in check, make mental health also a priority.
The mere idea of “losing weight” or “cutting fat” will take you nowhere that too during this pandemic when the value of nutrients and strong immunity is highly being considered. The entire health management is required.
Food habits to be changed: – Before getting into the idea of “fat cutting” one must understand that Fat is majorly needed for brain development especially in children also it plays a key role in muscle building, joint movements and many other functions. It is important to understand good fat and bad fat. Certainly eating habits are not managed in our country in general; according to a study Indians tend to eat more carbs, sugar and junk and less protein. Better way to deal with this isto take a balanced diet which has high nutritive value, high fibre, good fat and lots of liquids, take a help of Naturopathy Physician to make a natural diet plan according to your requirement.
Physical activities: –Also manage your food habits with more physical activities, yoga, cardio have a number of exercises which can be easily done at home.Surya Namaskar, Asanas, Pranayama, Stationary cycling andStationary jogging are options from which you can choose.
Health checkups: –blood test in every 6 months and whole body checkups in one year should be done. This will largely help in keeping in check with rising cholesterol level, blood sugar levels, liver toxicity,BP etc. which will help in managing the risk of upcoming diseases at initial level.
Considering above take extra care of children as obese children’s data is already disappointing. If many adults are on‘work from home’ and managing this crisis then our children are also on online classes from home and deprived of many things which play key roles for better childhoodduring this pandemic. In order to develop good food habits in children guardian should follow those healthy habits first then encourage them also to follow the same, merely ordering or scolding them will only defeat the purpose.
_______
About the Author
Dr Anjali Sharma
Author & Consultant
Dr Anjali Sharma, Naturopath and Yoga Expert, Shuddhi Naturopathy, Delhi
Disclaimer : The views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely her / his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of INVC NEWS.
