The young and obese are going under the knife in their quest to find love.
The young and obese are going under the knife in their quest to find love.
When 18-year-old Prateek Visariya looked at himself in the mirror two months ago, he decided it was time to act.
At 135 kilos, he was nowhere close to the desired levels of fitness. His excess weight had not only affected his confidence, but also his chances of finding love.
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"I was extremely ashamed of my weight. I didn't have the guts to approach and talk to a girl.
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I felt nobody would want to have me as a friend. Forget having me as a boyfriend," said the SYBCom student.
Sleeve gastrectomy
Prateek was willing to do anything to shed the excess baggage and fit into a pair of low waist jeans.
Last month, he underwent sleeve gastrectomy, a surgical procedure in which the stomach is reduced to about 15 per cent its original size, and lost 17 kilos.
"Hopefully, I'll now make some friends and probably, even have a girlfriend. I also want to desperately wear a pair of low waist jeans."
No compromises
Prateek is just one of many morbidly obese people who are willing to shave off those extra pounds in their quest for love.
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In a bizarre case, a girl insisted that her fiance, who weighed over 130 kgs, undergo surgery before they got married.
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The 27-year-old service sector professional, who preferred to remain anonymous, underwent sleeve gastrectomy in January and lost 30 kilos.
"I wanted the perfect start to our marriage. The first two years are vital for every couple and I did not want to compromise on any aspect that could ruin our relationship.
I underwent surgery, so that I stay in good health and my fiancu00e9e and I are happy," said the Bandra resident, who had unsuccessfully tried all possible weight loss programmes and crash diets.
Last resort
Bariatric surgeon Shashank Shah, a consultant at L H Hiranandani Hospital, sees 10 such patients every month. "Many of my patients are single and lonely.
Their parents are desperate to see them settled in life, but their weight is the biggest obstacle.
Surgery should always be the last option, but these patientsu00a0 have often had discouraging experiences with crash diets and weight loss programmes.
So, they believe surgery is their last and only resort," explained Shah, who added that patients usually undergo sleeve gastrectomy or gastric banding that has minimal nutritional side effects.
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>u00a0Sleeve gastrectomy is a surgical procedure where the stomach is reduced to nearly a quarter of its original size. It helps reduce weight by restricting food intake.
> Gastric banding is a procedure where a band is placed on the top part of the stomach so as to restrict the flow of food and, hence, help the patient lose weight.
Weighty matters
Psychologist Shwetambara Sabharwal maintains that weight is an important concern among couples.
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"Perception of oneself and the partner is a very important part of a healthy relationship.
Problems arise when there is a lack of acceptance of self or the other.
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Most often people have apprehensions about what the other person might think about their u00a0face and/or body arising out of a poor perception u00a0of self.
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It affects interpersonal relationships significantly," said Shwetambara.
Matrimonial ads u00a0can wait
The urge to get fit before finding love is even putting off obese people from creating online profiles until they get slimmer.
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"The motivation levels are high since they understand that most suitors want to get married to partners of a reasonable weight and, hence, their present state may put off a lot of prospective brides and grooms," said Murugavel Janakiraman, founder-CEO of Bharatmatrimony.com, an online matchmaking portal.
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