Coimbatore : A recent study conducted by a city hospital revealed that 12 per cent of the children in and around Coimbatore are obese and 16 per cent overweight.

The department of bariatric surgery at Gem Hospital has conducted the study in 25 schools, both private and government, covering 15,000 students, department head Dr Praveen Raj told reporters here on Wednesday.

There was the possibility of majority of the 12 per cent students continuing to be obese when they become adults, and this could be because of both genetic and lifestyle.

The department, which started bariatric surgery 18 months ago under Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance scheme, had performed 124 surgeries out of the 133 performed in entire State, he said.

Such procedures under the scheme were performed only in Tamil Nadu and many States wanted to replicate this Model, through Ayushman Bharath, a centrally sponsored scheme, he added.

With lifestyle diseases emerging to be the major killer of today’s century, bariatric surgery had evolved to be a boon for many, as diseases are refractory to lifestyle modifications and medical management alone, Praveen Raj added.