Nayak Institute of Gastroenterology, a division of Gunasheela Hospital, has recently started a full-fledged obesity clinic in the existing premises of hospital in Bangalore.

Dr Rajsekhar Nayak, director, Nayak Institute of Gastroenterology said, "Today, in Bangalore there are clinics and hospitals offering obesity surgery but here in this case, the doctors have to be either called from other cities for operations or surgeries or the patient has to travel to these cities for getting the surgeries done. Hence, the patients from Bangalore / Karnataka have to spend a little more as compared to surgery cost in other cities. This is where I realized the need for a city centric obesity care and cure full-fledged clinic. That inspired me to start this centre".

Obesity is a sum total of major factors such as genetic make-up, overeating, eating high-fat food, and lack of physical activities. Obesity makes you vulnerable to a wide array of health problems such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, stroke, arthritis, and cancer to name a few.

Nayak further said, "It is estimated that of 2.1 billion obese people worldwide, India alone accounts for 97 million, of which more than 25 million have morbid obesity. The condition is a leading cause of diseases like coronary artery disease and diabetes and even cancer, which is why there is a need to start mass awareness programmes about obesity. In order to address the malaise of obesity, bariatric surgery has emerged as the best suitable option to rid body of excessive fat. One needs to consider diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary artery disease, hyperlipidemia, and degenerative joint disease, which are all directly weight related and potentially reversible with bariatric surgery. Even cancer (colon cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer and esophageal cancer) is associated with obesity".

A major misconception amongst people is that obesity and overweight are synonymous. An overweight is a person who has extra body weight from bone, muscle, fat and/or water. A person suffering from obesity has a high amount of extra body fat. Fat is important for storing energy, and insulating your body, among other functions. The human body can handle carrying some extra fat, but beyond a certain point, body fat can begin to interfere with your health. For this reason, obesity is more than a cosmetic concern and a serious health condition.