The cost of living for any family all across the country is generally not very high unless one is living a very high standard life. The biggest expense for a family comes at a time when there is an ailing family member. In rural areas specifically, it becomes harder because they do not always have the privilege of having a health insurance.
Obesity and overweight have increased in percentage over the years. There has been an 8.6 fold increase of obesity and overweight cases in the past 14 years, in urban areas the number has increased by 1.7 folds. Even though the cases of Obesity and overweight are increasing every year but still the biggest problem remains that Bariatric Surgery is not covered under the insurance. Doctors have uniformly said that this procedure is a life-saving procedure and not a cosmetic surgery and hence should be covered by the insurance agencies. But the agencies have refused to budge
Doctors believe that the cost factor is making the insurance companies reluctant to agree. A Bariatric surgery costs are very high in between INR 2.5 lacs to 5 lacs. The technology and equipment costs an additional of INR 1.75 lacs. Since the insurance companies are not ready to budge and the expenditure for families in increasing, the only way out is to fight obesity and make sure that none of your family members are suffering from it.
It is clear that the obesity problem is not just restricted to the urban areas; it has penetrated very well in the rural areas as well. After USA and China, India has been called as the third largest contributors to obese people all over the world. Obesity is a serious problem because it leads to a lot of other health issues like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, blood pressure problem and in some extreme cases even cancer. The number has grown to more than 61 million and is growing.
Obesity among the people belonging to the low income group is increasing. The reason behind it is being given to be as that the people who were undernourished during the fetal period often become overweight later on due to a biological dysfunction, where in the body is not able to oxidize fat. An overweight baby giving birth to an undernourished baby is mostly because the mother must have been undernourished herself in during her childhood.
Some other factors which are involved with low income obesity is the tendency of the family members to stop their child from crying by giving them sweets or anything which consists high quantity of trans-fat. Also consumption of tobacco, alcohol at an early age contributes too to health hazards.
The government needs to look into this because it is a very serious issue and needs to be dealt with immediately. Obesity is increasing at a very rapid pace and it can only be dealt with efficient and sensible steps. A national unified effort needs to be made in order to fight this serious health issue. For the progress of the economic and social classes of the society, it is important to contribute in solving this health crisis.
Learn more about the cost of weight loss surgery and bariatric surgery insurance coverage.