• Wardrobe Makeover Support Group to reshape the fashion statement of people after impressive weight loss
• Patients shared their journey from being extremely obese to a healthy body post-surgery.

Max Super Specialty Hospital, Saket, took a thoughtful initiative to arrange for a wardrobe makeover support group for the patients who shed their extra kilos with successful bariatric surgeries. Obesity is surely a fast-growing lifestyle disorder and increasingly people are falling prey. In collaboration with Goonj, bariatric patients of Max Hospital, Saket contributed their plus-sized old wardrobe as a mark of celebration. People who gave their clothes were also urged to contribute for its transportation and other aspects. When people only contribute material, it puts a pressure on the meager resources meant for work with ignored communities. 

Gracing the event with his presence was Dr. Pradeep Chowbey, Chairman – MAMBS & Allied Surgical Specialties, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket. This initiative intends to ignite the desire among all obese people to lose their extra weight before it becomes life threatening and to show support to people who have achieved their goals successfully.

According to the latest National Family Health Survey – 2018, 33.5%-women, 26.6%-men suffer from obesity in Delhi alone. People who are extremely obese are often seen to give up on fashion and start wearing loose fits to keep the flabs under wraps. However, it is a happy thing to get rid of obesity and people should cherish this accomplishment by making themselves feel great. Fashion consultation was also provided to patients to help them scale up their dressing and understand ‘How to dress after a weight-loss surgery’. This initiative of Max Healthcare was to help these people overcome this barrier and dress themselves happily after getting rid of the stubborn fat on their body, with help of fashion consultants. A small initiative to boost their moral after weight loss surgery and help them dress more fashionably was a much-needed thing for all of them.

About GOONJ (means an echo) a multi award winning organisation, using the cities discard for fueling widespread development work across village India. While dealing with more than 4000+ tons of material annually, Goonj reaches this material as a resource, as a parallel currency with dignity to the rural communities as they take up large scale development work like recharging water bodies, rebuilding local infrastructure, education, for addressing their own issues. Goonj’s work has also led to the systematic changes in the disaster relief & rehabilitation work; while it has also opened up the most taboo issue of menstrual hygiene and providing clean cotton cloth as a viable solution. For details, please refer- www.goonj.org   

Dr Chowbey, who has been a pioneer in bariatric surgery and won several national awards and accolades, shared his opinion saying, “There is an alarming trend in the rate at which people are gaining weight. This is not limited to just metropolitans but is showing up as a concern in tier II and III cities as well. If not address in time, this will soon reach an epidemic volume and prove to be life-threatening. It is important that people take their health seriously. However, one must not get disheartened and lose hope and health as there are several options available across board and can be custom made as per one’s need. I am encouraged to meet so many of my previous patients who have made remarkable improvements in their lifestyles post their surgeries to scale themselves down drastically. It is a brave step and now they should cherish and maintain their body to live a healthy life.”

The event was concluded with the happy and interesting stories shared by those who lost weight post-surgery and life-style modifications as an inspiration for others present to break myths and misconceptions about life post a bariatric surgery.