Weight loss surgery in India

Why India is Emerging as a Top Destination for Weight Loss Surgery

Rising Obesity Rates in India

With the persisting need to address the problem of malnutrition, India has developed another nutritional problem, obesity. According to the National Family Health Survey 4, the number of obese people in the country has doubled in the last decade.

Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

It is a known fact now that obesity is the major reason for developing Type 2 Diabetes. Several studies have revealed that obesity accounts for 80-85% risk of developing type 2 Diabetes. Moreover, most of the world’s population lives in countries where overweight and obesity kill more people than underweight.

Bariatric Surgery as an Effective Solution

Bariatric surgery is now more efficacious than lifestyle changes or medical treatment for sustained weight loss and remission of Type 2 Diabetes.

Cost-Effectiveness of Bariatric Surgery

The cost of weight loss surgery versus the cost of medicines and lifestyle changes has been debated extensively. Similarly, not only savings but also cost-effectiveness of weight loss surgery have also been discussed. Various studies have demonstrated cost-effectiveness and cost savings for bariatric procedures compared with usual medical care or intensive lifestyle interventions. All of these studies have been carried out in setups where weight loss surgery has been expensive as compared to the eastern world.

Delhi: A Hub for Medical Tourism

New Delhi, the capital city of India has now become a popular destination for medical tourism. Millions of foreign tourists visit India annually for their medical needs. There are many world-class and reputed hospitals in Delhi, which provide exemplary services in the field of medical care. The presence of highly qualified and experienced weight loss surgeons along with institutions of international repute have made Delhi a prime city for weight loss surgeries in India.

Reasons to Choose India for Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery

According to Dr. Atul NC Peters, Senior Consultant and Head of Apollo Institute of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi, more and more patients are flying from the Western world for bariatric surgery in India. Not only for weight loss surgery, but people have also started travelling for metabolic surgery for Diabetes in India. Reasons for choosing India as a favorite destination for Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery are innumerate, a few of them being:

Bariatric Surgery cost in India is approx. half to one-third of the cost of the Western world.
There are no long waiting lists, as patients seeking weight loss surgery in Delhi are given almost immediate treatment.
International accredited hospitals and surgeons.
Dedicated bariatric surgical program which includes a team of expert surgeons, nurses, dieticians, and bariatric care specialists.
Fully equipped operation theaters with trained anesthetist.
Dedicated intensivist with exposure to more than a thousand operated bariatric surgical patients.
Safe and effective results.
Long-term follow-up schedules.
Options for single incision surgery.
Options of Robotic Surgery.

Hence India is now a preferred destination for weight loss surgery as well as metabolic surgery.

The Gulf Obesity Crisis

Gulf Obesity Crises: The Global Health Challenge

Obesity is now the biggest healthcare challenge worldwide, approximately one in three is either obese or overweight. Gulf obesity has particularly surged, overtaking malnutrition and infectious diseases as the world’s no.1 health problem.

Obesity in the Middle East

The problem is even bigger in the Middle East. According to one study, 51 million people in the Gulf are classed as obese. An epidemic indeed. In the same study, Qatar is reported to have the highest incidence of obese men (44 percent) in the Middle East and North Africa region, followed by Kuwait (43 percent) and Bahrain (31 percent), while the prevalence of obesity among women exceeded 50 percent in three Middle Eastern countries; Kuwait (59 percent), Libya (57 percent) and Qatar (55 percent).

Economic Impact of Obesity

Not only does obesity carry serious consequences for people’s health, but it also carries a global cost of $2 trillion, consuming 2.8 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product and demanding approximately 15 percent from the healthcare budgets of developed countries, according to the authors of the McKinsey report.

Researchers have produced the startling forecast that if current obesity rates continue, almost half of the world’s adult population will be overweight or obese by 2030.

Rising Demand for Bariatric Surgery

The demand for bariatric surgery is increasing by 20 percent annually in Gulf countries, however in many cases it is out of necessity rather than choice. Bariatric surgery is proven to reduce the risk of serious health complications associated with obesity such as cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, certain cancers, and perhaps most pressing for the region, type 2 diabetes. According to experts, we must not believe that obesity is not self-inflicted or a lifestyle choice, rather than a critical health issue.

Challenges and Criticism

It is these damaging perceptions that have led to widespread criticism of bariatric surgery, which can cost between $8,000 and $15,000, as many claim that the procedure is becoming a substitute for a lifestyle overhaul. It is from this viewpoint that a serious stigma has emerged.

Economic and Health Benefits

An increase in bariatric procedures could also realize financial savings for governments and healthcare systems alike, as patients who have undergone surgery, are more likely to avoid life-threatening and costly conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, which currently affects approximately one in ten adults in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Youth and Bariatric Surgery in the UAE

More young patients end up undergoing bariatric surgery in the UAE

Doctors advise weight-loss procedures if children have high BMI and other health issues

Obesity Statistics in the UAE

Abu Dhabi: With obesity cases rising in the UAE, more and more younger patients are being recommended for weight-loss surgeries, experts have said.

The surgeries are a last resort in the fight against obesity and its related complications. They are often a better choice than letting children’s health get progressively worse.

Global Obesity Trends

Statistics compiled by regulator Health Authority Abu Dhabi (Haad), indicate that nearly 30 percent of school-going children in Abu Dhabi are overweight or obese and the proportion rises to 40 percent among teenagers. Worldwide obesity has nearly doubled since 1980 and in 2011 more than 40 million children under the age of five were overweight (WHO).

Unless we take some drastic and wide-ranging measures, obesity will soon become the world’s biggest and most expensive health issue ever.

A food for thought, shall we say.