Body mass index (BMI) is a value derived from the mass (weight) and height of a person. The BMI is defined as the body mass divided by the square of the body height, and is expressed in units of kg/m2, resulting from mass in kilograms (kg) and height in metres (m).
Abdominal obesity, also known as central obesity and truncal obesity, is the human condition of an excessive concentration of visceral fat around the stomach and abdomen to such an extent that it is likely to harm its bearer's health. Abdominal obesity has been strongly linked to cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, and other metabolic and vascular diseases.
Type 2 diabetes (T2D), formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, fatigue and unexplained weight loss. Other symptoms include increased hunger, having a sensation of pins and needles, and sores (wounds) that heal slowly. Symptoms often develop slowly. Long-term complications from high blood sugar include heart disease, stroke, diabetic retinopathy, which can result in blindness, kidney failure, and poor blood flow in the lower-limbs, which may lead to amputations. The sudden onset of hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state may occur; however, ketoacidosis is uncommon.
Low-carbohydrate diets restrict carbohydrate consumption relative to the average diet. Foods high in carbohydrates are limited, and replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fat and protein, as well as low carbohydrate foods.
Neal D. Barnard is an American animal rights activist, physician and founding president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). Barnard has authored books advocating a whole food plant-based dietary eating pattern.
Timothy David Noakes is a South African scientist, and an emeritus professor in the Division of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine at the University of Cape Town.
A fat tax is a tax or surcharge that is placed upon fattening food, beverages or on overweight individuals. It is considered an example of Pigovian taxation. A fat tax aims to discourage unhealthy diets and offset the economic costs of obesity.
Obesity in India has reached epidemic proportions in the 21st century, with morbid obesity affecting 5% of the country's population. India is following a trend of other developing countries that are steadily becoming more obese. Unhealthy, processed food has become much more accessible following India's continued integration in global food markets. This, combined with rising middle class incomes, is increasing the average caloric intake per individual among middle class and high income households. Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and NGOs such as the Indian Heart Association have been raising awareness about this issue.
George L. Blackburn was the S. Daniel Abraham Professor of Nutrition and associate director of the division of nutrition at Harvard Medical School. He was also director of the Center for the Study of Nutrition Medicine (CSNM) in the Roberta and Stephen R. Weiner Department of Surgery, and director of the new Feihe Nutrition Laboratory at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), Boston, Massachusetts.
Thomas R. Frieden is an American infectious disease and public health physician. He serves as president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, a $225 million, five-year initiative to prevent epidemics and cardiovascular disease.
Ann Louise Gittleman is an American author and proponent of alternative medicine, especially fad diets. She regards herself as a nutritionist. Gittleman has written more than two dozen books and is known for The Fat Flush Plan, a "detox" diet and exercise program that she developed into a series of books. Gittleman's ideas on health and nutrition are regarded as pseudoscience.
Robert H. Lustig is an American pediatric endocrinologist. He is professor emeritus of pediatrics in the division of endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he specialized in neuroendocrinology and childhood obesity. He is also director of UCSF's WATCH program, and president and co-founder of the non-profit Institute for Responsible Nutrition.
Graham Lusk FRS(For) FRSE was an American physiologist, and nutritionist. He graduated from Columbia University, and from University of Munich with a PhD. He was an expert on diabetes. He was profoundly deaf from the age of 30.
A number of lifestyle factors are known to be important to the development of type 2 diabetes including: obesity, physical activity, diet, stress, and urbanization. Excess body fat underlies 64% of cases of diabetes in men and 77% of cases in women. A number of dietary factors such as sugar sweetened drinks and the type of fat in the diet appear to play a role.
V. Mohan is an Indian physician/scientist specializing in diabetology. He is the Chairman of Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre, which is an IDF Centre of Excellence in Diabetes Care. He is also the Chairman of the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation in Chennai which is an ICMR Centre for Advanced Research on Diabetes.
MDP syndrome, also known as mandibular dysplasia with deafness and progeroid features, is an extremely rare metabolic disorder that prevents fatty tissue from being stored underneath the skin. It is only known to affect a very small number of people worldwide. Recent research has suggested that it may be caused by an abnormality of the POLD1 gene on chromosome 19, which causes an enzyme crucial to DNA replication to be defective.
Shashank R. Joshi is an Indian endocrinologist, diabetologist and medical researcher, considered by many as one of the prominent practitioners of the trade in India. He was honoured by the Government of India, in 2014, by bestowing on him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his services to the field of medicine. He is a part of the COVID-19 Task Force for the state of Maharashtra, India.
Anoop Misra is an Indian endocrinologist and a former honorary physician to the Prime Minister of India. He is the chairman of Fortis Centre for Diabetes, Obesity and Cholesterol (C-DOC) and heads, National Diabetes Obesity and Cholesterol Foundation (NDOC). A former Fellow of the World Health Organization at the Royal Free Hospital, UK, Misra is a recipient of the Dr. B. C. Roy Award, the highest Indian award in the medical category. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2007, for his contributions to Indian medicine.
The sugar industry subsumes the production, processing and marketing of sugars. Globally, about 80% of sugar is extracted from sugar cane, grown predominantly in the tropics, and 20% from sugar beet, grown mostly in temperate climate in North America or Europe.
India has an estimated 212 million people with diabetes out of 828 million globally. One in four people (26%) in the world with diabetes is from India, making it the most affected country in the world.
