The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Stress on role of government, NGOs in tackling obesity

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Monday, Dec 07, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Stress on role of government, NGOs in tackling obesity

Staff Reporter

“Over 25 per cent of population is overweight ”

— Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

HIGHLIGHTING AN ISSUE: Participants at a walkathon organised by the Obesity Foundation India in Chennai on Saturday.

CHENNAI: The government and NGOs have to play a key role in curbing the increasing problem of obesity in cities, says founder trustee of Obesity Foundation India (OFI) Ravindran Kumeran.

Speaking at a walkathon organised by OFI here on Saturday, Dr. Kumeran said: “There is a growing awareness of health and fitness. But, more than 25 per cent of the population is overweight and three per cent obese.”

Around three crore people in the country were facing obesity related problems which were rising at an alarming rate. In urban areas, more than five per cent of adults and 15 per cent of children were obese on account of changing lifestyle. Obesity is a disease, which needs much more public attention as it leads to premature death by pre-disposing the individual to hypertension, type 2 diabetes, hyper cholesterol, cardiovascular diseases and cancer, said Roopesh Khanna, one of the doctors who participated.

Flagging off the 2.5-km walkathon from lighthouse to Labour Statue, Member of Parliament Kanimozhi stressed the need for more awareness and physical activity to tackle obesity.

Similar campaigns would follow and the walkathon would become an annual feature in Chennai, said Dr. Kumeran.

The OFI plans to emulate the core principles of anti-smoking campaign to achieve its goal of prevention of severe obesity, he said.

“Our goal by the year 2015 is to reach out to the whole of Tamil Nadu and educate people that obesity is a disease. There are plans to focus on other cities and make it a nationwide movement,” Dr. Kumeran said.

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