Times of India
06 December 2010
By Vijaysinh Parmar
Rajkot, India

XXXL Happiness for Oversized
Overweight and lonely? Here’s reason to take heart. A club to throw your weight around is around the bend.

Pooja Chauhan, 40, a central government employee, plans to launch a ‘Fat Club’ in Rajkot for those fighting the battle of the bulge. Her mission: Create awareness on obesity and provide people with weight problems a common platform. "Many try hard to lose weight. When nothing works, they get depressed. They often cut a sorry figure and end up at the receiving end of unkind remarks. We’ll care for them and address their problems," said Chauhan.

At present, she is meeting those who tip the scales and trying to convince them to join her club, which she plans to launch on December 31. "At least 15 people have already joined. I hope to bring together about 70 to 100 such people before the kick–off. We will meet on December 31 and then chart out future plans," she says. "I suffered from this problem. So I understand what it means to be fat."

"The club isn’t just about how to shed weight. We’ll invite experts to discuss the issue. People will share their positive experiences and hold hands," she adds.

The club plans to offer assistance to its members on issues that are unique to them. "Availability of special clothes is a big issue. We plan to hire a tailor who can take care of this." The club will also play matchmaker.

"The weight problem often comes in the way of many marriages, forcing girls who are overweight to take extreme steps. We can help bring together a fat boy and a girl on the mandap," Chauhan adds.

Op to shed flab a huge success
By Kounteya Sinha
New Delhi:For four years, Yogesh Sethi, (33), tried to tame his diabetes and high blood pressure the normal way–popping daily pills for insulin production. But the efforts showed little result.

Yogesh’s main problem was his weight. At 173 kg, he suffered from what doctorsnow call diabesity. Fed up, Yogesh, a businessman, decided to undergo a gastric bypass surgery in 2008.

Today, Yogesh weighs only 80 kg, and is cured of both diabetes and high BP. More and more patients suffering from diabetes, morbid obesity and high BP are now undergoing metabolic surgeries that not only control their conditions but also cure them.

According to Dr Pradeep Chowbey–Yogesh’s surgeon and director of Max Healthcare Institute of Minimal Access, Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery–there has been a 82% success rate overall in metabolic surgeries in India. However, for patients suffering from diabetes or high BP for less than 10 years, the success rate is as high as 99%.

Dr Chowbey said, "We are no more talking about controlling blood sugar or pressure levels. We are now talking of curing them in patients with Type–2 diabetes."

Yogesh said, "I was morbidly obese, which was making my diabetes and BP levels go out of hand. Now, I feel like a new person. I no more pop multiple pills as both my BP and blood sugar is well within the normal range."