The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Weighty issue

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 02, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Weighty issue

Santosh Patnaik

VISAKHAPATNAM: Instead of losing weight dangerously, the HIV positive community, by and large, is found to be turning obese. A study conducted here confirms that weight gain has replaced ‘wasting syndrome’ as a matter of major concern. Waistlines are growing with change in approach.

Kutikuppala Surya Rao, member of the International AIDS Society, told The Hindu that the new trend could be due to psychological feeling that it was a chronic condition. He said it could be partly due to drugs, contentment, nutritional supplement, better attention by family members and boosting of immunity.

The study was conducted during August 2001 and July 2007. Of 1,884 HIV patients frequenting his clinic at Kancharapalem to take the anti-retro viral therapy, 1,158 persons (61.4 per cent) were diagnosed obese, 612 with average weight (32.4 per cent) and 114 below average weight (6.2 per cent). In view of the latest trend, Dr. Rao, a former member of National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), said there was a need to screen patients the world-over as obesity was likely to make them vulnerable to diabetes, hypertension, etc.

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