Dt.Quratul-Aan

The introduction of time-friendly food preparation techniques to ensure convenience to our eating lifestyles have made people shift from a healthy lifestyle to an unhealthy one rife with diseases viz obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, etc.

The coronavirus pandemic pushed masses globally to restrict their mobility and enforced physical inactivity. This has led to more people living sedentary lives, further increasing the risk of metabolic diseases. Children and adolescents typically gain more weight in summers. A school environment provides structure and routine around mealtime physical activity and sleep.

Now, people are bound to work from home. To prevent the spread of the pandemic to other people, children, college-goers and researchers attend online classes and have their whole work lives centred on a global village in a virtual world. Consequently, they adopt a monotonous routine that aggravates food cravings, hence the shift from perceiving food as nourishment to abusing the food. An abnormal sleep pattern disturbs the biological clock of the body and creates differential hormone levels which in turn cause a tendency to eat more.

The pandemic seems to worsen the prevalence of obesity-related conditions. Data of global obesity rates show that the condition affects 72% of men and 63% of women. This figure is expected to rise and this will worsen patient management in the future.

The exact time period till we will be free from coronavirus is unknown, so the continuous existence of coronavirus has raised severe health concerns over the attitudes and behaviours of people already struggling with obesity while isolated either at quarantine centers or in their homes.

The healthcare facilities in the country are already grappling with the crisis in terms of having specialized units for individual focus.COVID-19 is most likely linked to poor outcomes for those affected with obesity.  In New York, the percentage of people who required breathing tubes were 40% and in France, 90%  of those admitted to ICU were morbidly obese.

There are several more factors linked to the inability of obese people to cope with COVID-19, making the recovery process a bit tedious. In layman’s terms, I say that extra weight means there is higher oxygen demand in the body.

Essentially, the ability of the body to fight off the virus is compromised and much weaker in people who are obese. The best way to combat this is by focusing on the components served on our platters. As a preventive health care professional, I may not advocate here the theories used to help people refrain from food when in obesogenic environments; one cannot stay away from food.

The novel coronavirus is actually acting as an amplifier for obesity. The global food industry produces and extensively promotes cheap, sugar-sweetened beverages and ultra-processed foods high in salt, sugar and empty calories.

Government authorities must intervene to prevent children from developing unhealthy eating habits. Strong policies need to be checked by the food and drug organizations, the World Health Organisation (WHO), and other relevant agencies to implement a complete ban on the seditious display, advertisement and sale of such foods. Authorities need to implement positive nutritional policies, promote locally grown foods, and lay a foundation for organic markets.

Last but not the least, everybody should understand and employ the concept of food as a medicine and as a positive nutritional tool rather than merely using food to fill tummies and quench thirst for taste. It is essential to focus on the consumption of wholegrain cereals, fruits, nuts seeds, vegetables in our routine dietary regime in order to help to balance the current web of the COVID-19 pandemic. While escaping coronavirus we should not fall into the clutches of another epidemic—obesity.