KOLKATA: More than 5% of the city’s overweight population suffer from morbid obesity making them three times more prone to cardiovascular ailments that could result in a sudden and early death, say experts.Diseases like diabetes, hypertension and high triglyceride are triggered by morbid obesity, eventually leading to a fatal heart attack, they pointed out. The death of singer Pratik Chowdhury, who passed away after a cardiac arrest on Tuesday, is an example of how morbid obesity could lead to an unexpected death, they said.While those with a body-mass index (BMI) of more than 25 kg/metre cube are considered to be obese, a BMI of more than 40 makes one morbidly obese. Even though the number of morbidly obese is still insignificant, it is set to rise in the next 5-10 years.“ Being relatively rare, patients and even doctors are often at a loss deciding what should be done to check it,” said consultant Arindam Biswas.The first consequence of morbid obesity, according to Biswas, is metabolic syndrome. “It triggers high blood pressure, triglyceride and LDL. But the most dangerous part is visceral or abdominal fat, which infiltrates blood vessels and cardiac arteries, narrowing them down and leading to a heart attack. It happens silently and can only be contained if the symptoms are taken seriously and checked,” he said.Once BMI touches 40, immediate measures should be taken to reverse it, said Fortis Hospital internal medicine consultant Joydeep Ghosh. “Diet pattern should be revised because morbid obesity is almost invariably triggered by over-eating. Physical exercises should be weaved into the daily routine and medication must start to check hypertension and blood sugar . But these measures rarely manage to bring down weight to a normal level. So, the option of a bariatric surgery needs to be explored,” said Ghosh.He added the morbidly obese tend to suffer from sleep apnea, which reduces oxygen supply to the heart and leads to cardiac arrest.While a majority of the morbidly obese are genetically prone to putting on weight, others tend to suffer from a malfunctioning of leptin — a protein produced by fat cells that sends signals to the brain indicating stomach is full.But it is the ‘central’ or abdominal fat which makes morbid obesity dangerous, said Fortis Hospital director of cardio-thoracic and vascular surgery K M Mandana. “Genetically, Indians are more prone to fat depositions in the waist region. This fat infiltrates the blood vessels leading to atherosclerosis or narrowing down of the arteries due to plaque deposition. While the co-morbidities like hypertension and blood sugar can be more easily screened and controlled, the narrowing of the arteries happen silently leading to a massive cardiac arrest, which could be fatal. This makes morbidly obese people three times more prone to a heart attack,” said Mandana.Morbid obesity should be treated like a serious disease, felt Debashish Saha. “There is a misconception that going on a crash diet helps in reducing weight and reversing everything. But it doesn’t help since the co-morbidities like hypertension and blood sugar tend to deteriorate if food intake drops drastically. Instead, diet pattern needs to be regulated under supervision,” said Saha.

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