eight-loss surgeon and obesity-loss expert Dr Muffazzal Lakdawala is in the news for performing a gastric bypass surgery on BJP president Nitin Gadkari to help him lose 40 kg.

Seated in his clinic, the Centre for Obesity & Diabetes Support (CODS) started four years ago in South Mumbai, Lakdawala says that Gadkari's weight loss was not for cosmetic reasons alone. "When Mr Gadkari came to me he made it clear that he loved being fat. He wanted to lose weight to get rid of his Type 2 diabetes. Now 10 days after the operation there are almost no signs of it," he says, explaining that his centre is known for performing bariatric and laparoscopic surgeries on those suffering from alarming obesity. "Ours is not a cosmetic surgery centre. Obesity is a serious illness and it is high time that the government recognized it as a disease."

Lakdawala has been operating on politicians for a long time now, but in secret.

"Many politicians don't want to confess that they have been operated upon," he says, adding that post the surgery on Gadkari, other politicians came out in the open praising him for their healthy lifestyles and slim looks. His patients cut across political parties. "They pass the word around and recommend me even to their rivals," he laughs. His other patients are politicians' overweight daughters.

He says that obesity is common among Indian politicians and observes that even those coming from rural areas have become health conscious and want to look good. "Politicians lead an erratic lifestyle. Their meals are irregular. They are unable to stick to a strict diet regime. Many obese politicians suffer from diabetes and hypertension. While some suffer from sleep apnea (dozing off suddenly), others suffer from sleeplessness because of their weight and that is when they believe it is a wake-up call." He says that television stars too have been visiting him for consultation, but he turns them away when they press for liposuction or cosmetic surgery.

"Politicians are sharper and more intelligent than us and they don't mind paying from their own pocket for expensive weight loss operations like these which might eventually cost anywhere between Rs 3-3.5 lakh," he says. Many politicians when visiting his clinic often wait patiently for their turn in the reception area like commoners and leave their entourage of security staff outside the clinic premises. "They believe I am going to give them a new life. And hence they do not throw any tantrums with me."

Lakdawala recalls a funny anecdote about an MLA who after having undergone surgery wanted to rush off to his tailor the day he was discharged to get a new wardrobe for himself. "He was contesting elections a week later and actually believed he would be slim and trim by then and had hence thrown off his old clothes. I had to tell him that he had to wait for at least a year to get the results of healthy eating and exercise. He was disappointed."

The only woman politician Lakdawala has operated upon was Bihar's Sports Minister Renu Devi. "She weighed 125 kg when she came to me for consultation. I joked that no sports minister ever should weigh so much. She got an operation and one can hardly recognise her now. She has thinned down considerably."