Obesity has caused health difficulties in Pakistan, as it has in other nations throughout the globe. Although official numbers are unavailable, experts believe that one-third of the country’s population is overweight. Not only that, but 10 to 15% of the country’s overall population, or more than 20 million individuals, are fat regularly. However, in contrast to industrialized nations, Pakistanis are unaware of the causes of obesity and the significance of its negative health consequences.
Health Calculator from the BBC
As a result, obesity is more common among the younger generation. When the number of young people in Pakistan’s population reaches over 60%, this becomes much riskier.
Obesity and its implications are a double-edged sword for the current generation. It’s a simple law that if you eat too much and don’t exercise, you’ll gain weight. However, in our day of invention, junk food and a fast-paced routine are two aspects that contribute to such a lifestyle.
It might be tough to live a healthy lifestyle that involves eating, sleeping, getting up, and exercising on time. At the very least, the younger generation should be aware of these challenges.
Experts say several elements induce obesity that most individuals are either ignorant of or wrongly employ to meet modern-day necessities.
Is it true that everyone who eats too much will become obese?
This is often correct, but not always. Why is it that one person is skinny while the other is fat despite eating the same amount of food and exercising the same amount?
The BBC Urdu Health Series continues with more tales.
Every year, 1.5 million Pakistanis are affected by diabetes.
“The first thing to remember is that diabetes is a condition, not a disease.”
Each person’s capacity to absorb food or utilize calories differs, according to Dr. Faisal Masood, a psychiatrist with vast teaching expertise in the area of medicine. Beneficial bacteria present in some people’s intestines also produce calories for them.
“However, it is true that if you exercise less than you consume, you will gain weight for the typical individual.”
Nawal Rizwan, a 24-year-old Lahore resident, experienced something similar. They began consuming junk food at a young age, such as burgers, pizza, fritters, samosas, and cold beverages.
“My weight went from 70kg to 125kg, which I reduced to 115kg following exercising in the previous six months,” she adds.
He has not had any health issues so far, but he must have encountered social pressure as a result of his obesity, which served as an incentive for him to reduce weight.
Obesity and canned milk
One of the causes for the rise in obesity rates, according to Dr. Faisal Masood, is the tendency of giving formula milk to babies instead of breast milk.
Dr. Faisal told the BBC that the premise was that children were suffering from malnutrition at a young age as a result of inadequate nutrition and a dangerous cycle of infections like cholera.
‘Children who drink canned or cow-buffalo milk manufactured in contaminated water as a youngster have cholera, which causes their intestines to lose their capacity to digest and absorb nutrition. This lowers their immune system, making them more susceptible to cholera.
Children become critically malnourished as a result of being locked in a vicious spiral. It should be remembered that Pakistan has a 44 percent stunting rate owing to age and physique, which means that children are unable to attain their IQ level and growth according to age.
“These are the youngsters that are malnourished at a young age. They adjust their bodies in such a manner that they store all of the calories when they survive.” These children get fat as they grow older as a result of their increased calorie consumption, which is a well-known scientific fact.
Dr. Faisal served as the Vice-Chancellor of King Edward Medical University and the University of Health Sciences Lahore in the past. He claims that although the general public believes canned milk is nutritious, it is not. “Breast milk is the best and most complete meal for a newborn.”
The general population seems to be unaware of this. The infant is introduced to canned milk as soon as it is born and becomes acclimated to it.
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