BATTLING OBESITY SINCE 5, BARIATRIC SURGERY AT 14
Mihir Jain (right) has been homeschooled for seven years, because he was so obese, he found it hard to commute or keep up with a classroom schedule. He had been battling obesity since the age of five, because all he was eating were chips, fried snacks and sugary colas.
He is now 14, insulin-dependent, hypertensive, and recently had bariatric surgery for weight loss.
“Several endocrinologists over the years suggested we change his diet. We modified it a little but he didn’t want to give up his snacks,” says homemaker Pooja Jain, 38, his mother. His father runs a dairy franchise.
As his weight increased, he started having difficulty walking.
When he and his parents sought help at Delhi’s Max Smart Hospital last November, he weighed 214 kg and had a body mass index of 84, against an average of about 22.5. He also tested positive for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
On the doctors’ advice, Mihir went on a strict weight-loss diet. “He lost 17 kg in about 14 weeks,” says Pooja. “His insulin dose has been decreased.”
When he hit 197 kg, in February, he underwent the gastric bypass surgery.
“Mihir needed gastric bypass because his level of obesity was severe, as a result of bad diet, genetic predisposition of the family towards obesity, and a very slow metabolism,” says Dr Pradeep Chowbey, chairman of the Max Institute of Minimal Access, Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.
“He can now return to life as a teenager, but he will have to eat in smaller portions, and avoid fried snacks and calorie-dense food because his body has a natural propensity for weight gain. If he keeps to the new lifestyle, many of his lifestyle-linked conditions should ease.”