The obesity problem in UAE is no longer a secret. Medical Experts often points out the lifestyle of the UAE people for lifestyle disease such as the Obesity especially among the kids. However, now it seems the trouble is only doubling up. Research and reports have found out that obesity is actually leading to gastric problems as well among the people and have termed the disease as lifestyle disease.
Up to one in five people in the UAE are suffering from gastric problems because of obesity and poor diets, according to experts.
Acid reflux, ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome are some of the disorders that doctors say they have witnessed increases in recent years.
There is also a high number of sufferers of fatty liver, caused to a large extent by the excessive consumption of sugary drinks.
Dr Chawla said he had patients who were as young as 12 years old suffering from these conditions.
Gastrointestinal diseases are those that involve the organs in the digestive system. More often than not, digestive problems are due to low fibre diets, lack of exercise and consuming large amounts of food and dairy products. They all indicate to the lifestyle disease problems.
Dr Kaiser Raja, a consultant in gastroenterology and liver diseases at Aster DM Healthcare, agreed more children were coming forward with serious gastric problems caused by being overweight.
A vague discomfort is usually the only symptom of a fatty liver.
Anyone with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than 25, should get their cholestrol, blood sugar, blood pressure and liver enzymes checked regularly, doctors say.
A case of fatty liver, if ignored, might escalate to an advanced liver problem later in life.
People should also check their waist circumference. If it is more than 88 centimetres (34.7 inches) for women and 102 cm (40.2 in) for men, they could be carrying too much fat on their abdomen. Even if a person’s BMI is within the normal range, this could still harm their health.
To help reduce the number of cases, Dr Chawla suggests that medical professionals should collaborate together.
Patients suffering from acid reflux may complain of heart burn, difficulty in swallowing or chest pain. Those with irritable bowels usually have bloating in their stomach, diarrhoea, constipation, gas in their abdomen. Pain in the stomach, joint pains, blood in mucus, fever and back pain are a few symptoms of ulcerative colitis.
Doctors have termed it as a lifestyle disease. The gastric problems have become very common and 10 to 20 percent of UAE people now are suffering of it. Obesity remains the main cause for the problem which is slowly gasping the young generation as well. The medical experts say that the lifestyle disease should be effectively and immediately addressed.
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