Obese patients are increasing in Pakistan: Shahid Rasul

KARACHI: Bariatric Surgery Masterclasses were held at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) from February 21 to 22 to raise awareness of the negative repercussions and cure for obesity.

Professor Shahid Rasul, Acting Vice-Chancellor, JSMU, Dr Amir Khan, Dr Surrender Dawani, and Professor Mumtaz Maher, President of the Pakistan Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (PSM&BS), Pakistan, were among the faculty members who supervised the two-day programme at Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU).

Surgeons from different hospitals were asked to participate in this programme, which is one of a kind, to assist in surgery and learn from senior surgeons. In the past two years, JPMC has performed more than 50 such procedures.

As per Professor Shahid Rasul, the operation could treat and even reverse obesity-related conditions like diabetes, cancer, obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), metabolic syndrome, and polycystic ovarian syndrome. 

According to him, it also raises the libido of obese men and women. He further remarked that Pakistan's position is in the top three countries for diabetes in the world. He further expressed that obesity is increasing in Pakistan day by day. He also articulated that since obesity is an important cause of this disease, this workshop was essential to educate both practitioners and the general public.