At TLOI’s wellness engagement, Dr. Lakdawala and Dr. Shetty guide corporate leaders on dealing with obesity and mental stress

New Delhi [India], October 27 (ANI/SRV Media): “Exercise alone cannot make you lose too much weight. Diet plays a more important role. Meal replacements through various diet plans can work for only certain periods of time. Eventually, the body goes back to its original weight and in the long term, you don’t seem to have results. Bariatric surgery leaps ahead of any other non-surgical method as it can make you lose weight and maintain it”, said Dr. Muffazal Lakdawala, Director, Dept. of General Surgery & Minimal Access Surgical Sciences, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital at an engagement of Thought Leaders of India (TLOI).
The meeting was held under TLOI’s Wellness Impact initiative last Thursday and the well-known laparoscopic, GI, and bariatric surgeon was addressing leaders of India Inc., who are members of the business community. He was the Chief Guest. The exclusive meeting was also addressed by renowned psychiatrist Dr. Harish Shetty, Founder of Maitri, who has been appointed as a member of the National Testing Agency (NTA) by the Government of India. He was the Guest of Honour.
Given the work stress, haphazard timelines, and sedentary lifestyles, leaders of the corporate world often face challenges to physical and mental wellness. The two medical experts were invited to help the business leaders understand the two biggest health challenges – obesity and mental wellness — and realign their lifestyles with their bodies and mind in a more cognizant manner.

“Obesity is linked to less fertility, less sexual desire, varicose veins, and sleep apnea,” said Dr. Lakdawala, while busting many myths on body weight, food habits, exercise, and lifestyle management. “It not only impacts the weight-bearing joints but also the non-weight bearing joints as it leads to high levels of uric acid”, he said. The Honorary Surgeon to the Vice President of India also informed about the non-fatty liver syndrome, saying that fatty liver is linked to not only alcohol but to obesity too. “Studies also show that it is not necessary for rice-eating people to put on weight”.
There were many cautions in Dr. Lakdawala’s address. While guiding the business leaders on the way to check their BMI according to the specially curated index for Indian physiology “as obesity is classified differently for Indians and Asians vis-a-vis other countries”, he spoke about the danger of obesity leading to diabetes. “We have 90 million diabetics in India, and are next only to China,” he said adding that most obese people are malnourished as they face a deficiency of vitamins B and D.

However, fat should not be completely driven off our dining table, advised Dr. Lakdawala, who was given the Best Surgeon in the World Award by the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) in 2019. “Fat is important for vitamin A, B, D & E”, he said and explained how a balance could be arrived at. When asked on an ideal diet or eating routine he backed the practice of having dinner prior to sunset as it allows the person to get 3-4 hours of gap between their meal and sleep, which is important and healthy.
Dr. Harish Shetty, identified as one of the 17 young mental health workers by the World Health Organization, highlighted the need to reconnect in his address. “We have all lost connection. Connectivity in people has gone down and emotional contact time in the family has declined. Globalisation has caused the disconnection. We need to reconnect”.
Speaking on why leaders are more prone to mental stress and depression, Dr. Shetty said, “In a globalized world it is very important to preserve empathy and it takes a lot of effort. You need to share your vulnerability with your hierarchy downwards. You can’t be the only pillar that holds the entire organization.” Emphasizing that our goal should be to build emotional health, Dr. Shetty underlined the anatomy of Pathy Triad: apathy, empathy and antipathy. “They co-exist,” he said guiding them about empowered vulnerability. “It is important to accept your vulnerabilities as that is what makes you empowered”.
Sharing specific data, Dr. Shetty said that one out of seven Indians is mentally ill and shared a five-point solution to manage stress and prevent depression – deal, dissolve, deflect, distract and disintegrate. “Continuous exhaustion and excessive guilt are signs of depression,” he cautioned. “Depression is fracture of the mind and it is invisible”.
To a query on ways to destress in a highly active life, Dr. Shetty shared three simple ways: a) micro pranayama – using even a two-minute window to take a few deep breaths; b) showers – the water sprayed on the top of the head helps relax the skull muscle, which helps the body to relax; and c) short breaks — taking small breaks and processing one’s emotions. He stressed on the need to vent out regularly. Dr. Shetty, who also trains the judiciary, warned, “Obsessive exercise doesn’t work, joyous exercise works”.
He recommended every organization to have a mental health policy. Dr. Shetty gave five simple mantras to a good and happy life: yoga, exercise, diet, sleep and kindness. He had a strong piece of advice for women: “Do not try to be perfect in everything. It is ok to be imperfect”.
Thought Leaders of India (TLOI), an exclusive ‘by-invitation’ community that has made long strides in a short span is curated by Sapphire Connect – one of India’s premier B2B meeting specialists. Its members include top entrepreneurs, founders, chairmen, managing directors and CXOs of corporate India across industries.
Rishi Kapoor, Associate Partner and Business Head of Sapphire Connect said, “Each of our engagements has been tailored to create significant value addition to the life of our members. At Thought Leaders of India, we have been inviting the doyens of various arenas to address our members and strengthen the fourth quadrant in their life – impact. In a short span, we have invited maestros under our Nation Building Impact, Learning Impact and Wellness Impact initiatives. For this engagement, our prime focus was on wellbeing as senior positions lead to excruciating demands in work life and the stress and challenges lead to various health problems – of the body and the mind. We are very happy that the thought leaders found the addresses very informative. We will continue to have such informative, insightful and interesting engagements”.
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