To Book an Appointment

How an Apple Can Define Your Obesity?

By Dr. Pradeep Chowbey in Laparoscopic / Minimal Access Surgery , Bariatric Surgery / Metabolic

Dec 24 , 2025 | 1 min read

Apple has had a long love-hate relationship with humanity. We have always grown up with a saying “An apple a day, keeps the doctor away”. But now this fabled fruit is cited to describe the unhealthy “apple-shaped” obesity in metabolic syndrome.

The term ‘syndrome’ describes a cluster of abnormal clinical and biochemical findings, bunched together to define a medical condition. Metabolic syndrome, which is also called Syndrome X, encompasses increased sugar levels, high blood pressure, abnormally lipids fractions and even fatty infiltration in the liver with the central apple-shaped obesity.

Dr. Pradeep Chowbey, Chairman of Max Institute of Minimal Access, Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery says, the accumulation of fat around the mid portion, enlarging the girth, is now recognised as a potentially serious condition with long term effects. In this abnormal abdominal fat structure resides the factor leading to insulin resistance – condition that leads to Diabetes!

Although factors such as genes, ageing, diet, disrupted sleep and sedentary lifestyle are some of the contributing factors leading to obesity. However, stress and low-grade chronic sub-clinical inflammation in the body can significantly ignite them all. In fact, the mismatch between our diet, activity levels and biochemical make-up are leading to steady weight gain. Metaphorically, this is where the pear scores over the Apple – for the accumulation of visceral fat around the waist and trunk (male-pattern, apple-shaped) is the culprit, while fat around the hips and buttock area is relatively benign. Therefore, metabolic syndrome requires an immediate attention, which is quite simple, to begin with

Even before the rise of BP or Blood Sugar Levels, an individual must initiate healthy lifestyle changes:

Increase physical activities while leaving aside TV screens and executive chairs
It is quite obvious that you can’t change the genes that you were born with, but you can definitely jump into training shorts
Just by losing few kilos, you can reduce your Blood pressure and Sugar medication while also cutting the risk of developing heart attacks and strokes
By adopting exercise and controlled eating habits, you can keep metabolic syndromes and its chronic but eventually lethal complications at bay.

Unfortunately, metabolic syndrome is quite common amongst Asians and Indians which makes this a genetically triggered lifestyle disorder and needs immediate and preventive attention. If you procrastinate and keep thinking “All is well” then soon your blood reports can get abnormal again and Adam’s forbidden Apple will come to take shape in your personality.

Written and Verified by: