Rapid Weight-Loss Risks and Rising Misinformation Highlighted by Dr. Jitendra Singh
“Obesity has emerged as a public health challenge in India, and is not a mere cosmetic issue. The issue requires scientific precision. It also demands policy discipline,” said Union Minister of State for Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Dr. Jitendra Singh, while speaking at the panel discussion “Clinician–Scientist Interaction on Obesity” during the India International Science Festival (IISF) here.
Held in the presence of leading experts from clinical medicine, biomedical research and public policy, the session brought together a multidisciplinary perspective on India’s rising metabolic health burden. The Minister addressed a packed audience at IISF, emphasising how societal behaviour, market forces, and misinformation have complicated India’s obesity landscape.
The dais featured leading experts from India’s scientific and medical community, including Dr. Ashwani Pareek, Executive Director of NABI; Dr. Vinod Kumar Paul and Dr V.K. Saraswat, Members NITI Aayog; Prof. Ullas Kolthur, Director of CDFD; Dr. Ganesan Karthikeyan, Executive Director of THSTI; and senior endocrinologists Dr. Sanjay Bhadada and Dr. Sachin Mittal.
Obesity Needs Urgent Attention, Says Dr. Jitendra Singh
Dr. Jitendra Singh noted that Indian society has historically viewed obesity as a cosmetic issue. It is seen more as a cosmetic issue than a disease. This perception has delayed scientific conversations around it. “For decades, our medical conferences discussed diabetes and metabolic disorders, but never obesity. Only in the last 15 years have we begun treating it as a serious medical subject. This shift marks a crucial change,” he observed.
The minister highlighted India’s unique phenotype, especially the higher prevalence of central or visceral obesity in Oriental populations. “For Indians, the waistline tells a more important story than the weighing scale,” he said, stressing that visceral fat is an independent risk factor even when overall body weight appears normal.
Addressing the widespread and fashionable adoption of GLP-based drugs, the Minister urged caution with judicious use and emphasised that sometimes long-term effects become evident several years later. He recalled past public-health misjudgements. One example was the unregulated shift to refined oils in the 1970s and 80s. This shift later revealed unfavourable consequences. True clinical inference may come from observing outcomes over decades,” he pointed out.
Unqualified Diet Advice Fuels India’s Metabolic Crisis: Dr. Jitendra
Dr. Jitendra Singh also referred to emerging concerns such as sarcopenia and “Ozempic face.”These issues arise from rapid or drug-induced weight loss. He stressed that researchers still do not fully understand the full spectrum of physiological impacts
A major portion of the Minister’s address focused on the threat posed by misinformation. He warned that unqualified practitioners and self-styled dietitians are worsening India’s metabolic crisis. “The challenge in India is not lack of awareness, but the explosive growth of disinformation. Every colony has a dietitian, but no system to verify their qualifications. Unchecked advice and untested formulas can do more harm than obesity itself. He urged policymakers to design mechanisms that safeguard patients from misleading interventions.”
He also pointed to the expanding range of metabolic complications in India. “Earlier every third OPD patient had undiagnosed diabetes; today every third patient has fatty liver. The spectrum is widening, and we need a far more scientific and regulated ecosystem to handle it”.
Dr. Jitendra Singh concluded his remarks. He drew a parallel to Mark Twain’s famous quip on economics. He said, “Obesity is too serious a subject to leave only to endocrinologists.” It is a societal problem shaped by culture, habits, markets and misinformation, and the stakes are too wide to ignore
The session ended with a call for deeper collaboration between clinicians, researchers, and policymakers. The public was also urged to take part. This collective effort aims to address India’s fast-evolving metabolic health challenge.
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