City-based bariatric surgeon Shashank Shah receives no less than 10 calls every day from patients seeking help to reduce their weight gained over the period of lockdown.
Even a normal healthy person has put on an average of 2-3 kg during the lockdown, he said..
"Patients said hunger and cravings are increasing, so is their weight. Many are not exercising due to various reasons or have constraints in exercising at home. Hedonic-driven hunger is on the rise as people do not have anything else to do or options to go out. I have noticed increased consumption of carbohydrate-rich food and packaged or readymade food. Automatically when one is away from all other work, one may start consuming more or the frequency of meals may increase. It is unfortunate as those with obesity and diabetes, which are now on the rise, are at risk for Covid-19 in the future," Shah said.
Avinash Bhondwe, president, Indian Medical Association, Maharashtra, said the unchecked increase in diet coupled with lack of exercise has led to an increase in sugar levels, cholesterol and weight gain among people. "Those who were out of home all day are now working from home and eating all meals or more. The daily food requirement of a person is 1,400 calories. However, since people are not going out of home for work and are not exercising enough, only about 1,100 or 1,200 calorie intake is required. People are eating sweets, mangoes and readymade foods with abandon. This has led to about 2kg weight increase in people. My clinic has received several cases of patients complaining about weight and increase in sugar levels," he said.
