India currently has the third highest number of obese people in the world after USA and China. With this significant rise in obesity there are other health problems that co-occur with it. One of the most common health problems linked to obesity is infertility. Fertility is seen to be significantly affected by a person weight and multiple studies and research have found a direct co-relation. Obesity is known to affect fertility not just in females but in males as well including affecting the sexual health as well.

In Females :

1. Excess fat deposition in the abdominal region increases the risk of insulin resistance. Egg formation in females is affected significantly by insulin resistance. Insulin also affects the sex hormones and increases male hormones and reduces the female hormones. This increase in male hormones in females also gives rise to male characteristics such as excess facial hair growth, hoarseness or change in voice and acne development.
2. Obesity can significantly increase the chances of miscarriage due to poor quality of egg and hormonal imbalance could prevent the pregnancy from sustaining.
3. Obesity can also lead to complicated pregnancies. With the increase in weight at each trimester of pregnancy the female may develop high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, the baby’s head maybe enlarged (also called macrosomia) thereby making it a high-risk pregnancy and chances of normal delivery become almost impossible.

In Males :

1. Obese males can have a significant reduction in the sperm count or no sperm formation at all when compared to normal weight adults thus affecting conception.
2. With increase in weight there is a significant reduction in the male hormones which get converted into female hormones thereby affecting the sperm formation. Males tend to develop female characteristics like change in voice, breast development (gynaecomastia), acne and indrawn or buried penis.
3. Also, due to the excess fat deposition there can be an increase in the temperature around scrotum thus affecting the sperm count, sperm concentration and the sperm’s ability to swim.

Multiple research and studies have shown that it is safer to conceive after bariatric surgery than to conceive when you are overweight or obese.

The following points were noticed regarding Obesity and Infertility after Bariatric Surgery :

1. Significant improvement in Fertility
2. Need for fertility treatment was very low
3. Normalization of hormones, decrease in excess hair growth in females (hirsutism), regularization of menstrual cycle
4. Resolution of PCOD
5. Increase in chance of healthy and normal conception
6. Improvement in sperm count
7. Improvement in sexual libido in both males and females
8. A significant reduction in maternal complications like diabetes, high blood pressure and foetal complications like macrosomia.
9. The baby is also protected from getting all these health complications

Thus Bariatric Surgery is a very important tool in not just improving fertility but also maintaining good sexual health and improving family and quality of life.

At LOC healthcare LLP Dr Shashank Shah has been performing Bariatric Surgeries for the last 17 years and he must have operated on over 1500 young girls who had healthy and normal babies post surgery.

Homemade Vegetable Soup Recipe

Soup is one of the easiest and wholesome thick liquid option to those who want to lose weight.Soups can be a good hydration option as it helps to increase your liquid intake throughout the day. It gives you satiety due to the fibres from vegetables / lentils / pulses / etc.

It is a healthier option of one pot meal which includes all essential components like Protein+fiber+antioxidants +vitamins+ minerals.

It Enhances Nutritious value of your meal while maintaining your portion size and calorie count.

It is one of the tasty forms of protein, fibre and low calorie option.

Which soup you should not take if you are aiming for healthy weight loss?

Thinking to lose weight initiates us to focus on every food choice we make nutritiously.

In case of soups, not all soups are the same. In today’s busy lifestyle, one who wishes to lose weight through healthy diet options are prone to select the easiest preparing ready to make food choices.

Packed/canned soups or few soups at the restaurants are loaded with hidden fat and sugar sources in the form of preservatives. The ingredients used are not of fresh quality, leaving the major content of the soup to be starchy, sugar and sodium.

The vegetable content of any instant soup is almost negligible besides containing depleted nutrients.

Just having soup for being healthy is not correct. One has to understand contents, which are not ideal for weight loss and prepare/consume soup accordingly and then only it can be considered healthy.

Checking food labels for the for better food choices in important.

Making soup at home without preservatives and low fat ingredients will help to enhance the value of it. Using
substitutes like fat-free or low-fat milk instead of heavy cream, almond milk, soya milk, blanched vegetable
over canned ones. You can use chicken broth to thicken the soup with pureed vegetables, lentils, beans or
tofu. Simple ingredients like ginger, garlic, cloves and herbs, nutmeg, spices enhances the natural flavours and
promote better absorption of nutrients. Sometimes vegetable soup simply isn’t an option for some people. For
improving the thickness and increasing the satiety level one can add fibre to soups in the form of simple
changes like of oats flour instead of corn flour, soybean flour, unsweetened SMP, etc. Instead of munching on
unhealthy snacks, switching to broth based soups will give you sense of fullness or better satiety.

Avoid using the following ingredients while preparing soups :

• Sugar, Sausages, sodium in high amount
• cornbread, cheese, croutons
• Heavy Cream
• Corn flour / refined flour
• White Rice.
• Cheese sauce / mayonnaise.
• Coconut milk.
• Canned Veggies / Hummus.
• Monosodium glutamate ( MSG ) i.e. Aginomoto.

It’s not just soup, but it’s the complete diet and lifestyle changes that help you lose weight. Tailor-made
diets by the experts are necessary for better results and weight loss.

Ms Aditi with Dr Shashank Shah and Dr Poonam Shah

Every Moment A Learning Experience! A Psychologist Experience In a Bariatric Facility

When I first walked into LOC in 2014, I had little or no idea about my role. The very thought of working in a speciality hospital filled me with excitement but I must confess that I had also developed cold feet. Maybe, I was a tad uncertain. Certainty makes you beautiful while uncertainty makes you dutiful – the lines by Bob Goff were constantly playing in my mind. I readied myself to give it all to the two divine beings who placed trust in my abilities.

As I pen down my journey with LOC so far, excitement fills me to the core since I want readers to experience the role of a healthcare professional in a professional setup. Here goes…

Communication : The first and foremost aspect that my mentors, Dr Poonam & Dr Shashank Shah have instilled in me is to ensure that there is a flow of information exchange within and across teams. A healthcare setup primarily runs on communication and that sets the foundation to defines its success. This has helped me understand, comprehend and expedite the qualities required to be an effective team member.

Confidence : I cannot think of another profession that gives one the kind of certitude and assuredness that my job as a Bariatric Psychologist has instilled in me. Not often does one get the opportunity to be mentored by legendary figures who are the perfect guides to take me through this journey. Building confidence in me to make the patient feel comfortable and happy. Confidence to deal with and manage patients, discuss and offer justification on the outlay with them. The apprehensions and inhibitions I had about my fitment in this sector have been eliminated due to the confidence instilled in me by my mentors and the team.

Continued Learning : Suggesting weight-loss to patients by way of eating less is something I thought was easy to expedite. I thought. How wrong I was! Working with Sir has inseminated the know-how about the science of weight gain/loss and its significance in Bariatric Surgery. I must confess that I am still work-in-progress as far as knowledge of Bariatric Surgery is concerned because of its vast application and facets. And with every passing day, I am learning. And I am of the belief that LOC is the school where education is never-ending! I have been encouraged to pursue a PhD by my mentors and have been given the freedom to work on available data and with patients. My knowledge of nutrition has gradually increased.

Studying Behavioural Patterns : Working with patients often can be the best source of learning. In fact, it is! Every day, I have interfaced with patients displaying different personalities and behaviour. For a psychologist, this is as rich an experience as it can ever be. Often challenging my inner senses and faculties to study these traits and respond appropriately, I have learned to be attentive, alert and Argus-eyed during moments of interaction with patients. My levels of patience are steadily increasing… I have been able to gauge patient condition (Doing fine or not) during IPD rounds.

Gratification : The feeling that grips me every time I see happiness in the eyes of my patients a few years post-ops who have been consulted by me takes me to another level. And it keeps me going. The sense of giving back felicitousness makes my profession more endearing and I have been taught to spend each moment on the job to ensure this. I feel blessed to be in this role.

Evolution as a person : Continuous renewal is what this role gives me each day. Improving me as a person, as a healthcare professional and above all, a team member. I love to be a part of the team and its never-say-die spirit. Constantly looking up to my mentors and team members, learning from them are aspects which drive my passion for my job.

As I rewind the clock, I still remember the lines of Patch Adams which my Sir had told me on my first day at work…. You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, you are guaranteed to win irrespective of the outcome.

Since then – and counting – every moment has been a learning experience!!!