In an attempt to bridge the gap, Poona hospital and IAGES trained 75 surgeons on Jan 12–13

With more than 20 lakh obese patients in the country needing bariatric surgery, there are only 50 trained bariatric surgeons in the country.

In an effort to improve the condition, the Poona Hospital and Research Centre in association with International Association of Gastrological Endo Surgeon (IAGES) organised a master class in bariatric surgery on January 12–13.

First such class in India, 75 laproscopic surgeons across India had been selected for the training purpose. During the live workshop, the surgeons essayed eight complicated surgeries. Besides, lectures, sessions and live demonstrations of various obesity treatments including surgeries were also organised.

Dr Jayasshree Todkar, director of department of bariatric surgery, Poona Hospital and organising secretary of the conference said, "It’s essential for medical and surgical practitioners to upgrade their knowledge to help the obese people. Obesity is the perfect ground for multiple dangerous health risks like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, joint destruction and infertility. All of these show a significant positive improvement once the obesity surgery is performed."

Chairman of conference Dr Shashank Shah said there is acute shortage of obesity surgeons. "In India, there are 20 lakh obese patients who need to undergo bariatric surgery and we have only 50 skilled surgeons. This initiative is to overcome this shortfall by training surgeons," he said.

The latest environmental status report of Pune Municipal Corporation states that diabetes and hypertension have been biggest killers during 2011–2012.