Mumbai: Nagpada Police Hospital to get Obesity clinic

Mumbai: To benefit people struggling with obesity, an obesity clinic will be launched at the Nagpada Police Hospital in Mumbai Central on 27th September 2022. 

The health implications of obesity on various organs of the body are enormous, therefore, it is termed a 'silent killer.' To protect the country's citizens, police officers need treatments to stay fit and active. In association with Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, the clinic will open twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The clinic will also treat gastrointestinal complications.

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Dr. Muffazal Lakdawala, popularly known as Dr. Muffi, is India's best-known laparoscopic surgeon, specializing in bariatric & Gastrointestinal surgeries, and his team will run the clinic. He is the Co-founder and Chief Surgeon at Digestive Health Institute and Director of Surgery, Department of General and Minimal Access Surgical Sciences at Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai.

Recognising the struggle of police officers with their weight, Dr. Muffi decided to provide them with a clinic that would help them with their weight and mental health. The police officers, as well as their family members, will benefit from the clinic.

Dr. Muffi told HT, "This is a small attempt in helping our policemen that will encompass non-surgical to surgical management of obesity. Our team, which will have a dietician, behaviour counsellor, and obesity specialist, will be providing holistic treatment for obesity management. We soon plan to start an endoscopy clinic and have general surgeries too."

Dr. Kapildeo S Patil, police surgeon at Nagpada Police Hospital, said, "Policemen do not have a regular schedule. They have to work more than normal daily hours, leading to irregular and unhealthy eating habits. Eating habits and long working hours lead to weight gain affecting their health. After the age of 40, we see most of them being diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension, and other diseases. The aim is the prevention of diseases. The clinic will help in the early detection of cases. Weight loss helps in preventing and controlling many diseases, including diabetes,"

Constable Rupali Kadam, aged 33 will be the ambassador of the clinic who underwent bariatric surgery in February 2019. Dr. Muffi conducted the operation. According to Kadam, she weighed 132 kg at the time of the operation; now, she weighs 85 kg and is more conscious of what she eats.

She said, "We drink a lot of tea and live on vada pavs. Counselling by the nutritionist and psychologist helped. I am sure the obesity clinic will help many to prevent undergoing surgery like me. Within a decade [of joining the force], I put on weight. We have day and night shifts and more than 12 hours of duty. Even if we get our tiffin from home, we do not get time to eat."

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