IPMAT Indore 2020 (VA) PYQs

A report published in Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology has called for an overhaul of our understanding of obesity. An over-reliance on using Body Mass Index [BMI] as a metric has the peculiar effect of leading to both underdiagnosis and overdiagnosis of the condition. __________________________. BMI does not give accurate information about how fat is distributed in an individual’s body. It frequently fails to capture the true state of health of an individual. A person’s BMI may indicate they are “obese”, but their organs and bodily functions may be absolutely normal. Every individual is a unique constellation — not only of genes and other biological variables, but also socio-economic conditions and habits.

__________________________________________. In Southeast Asia, for example, climate and lifestyle factors mean that people spend much more time in shopping malls than Europeans do, who might go shopping once a fortnight. Then there are gender variations in the way we shop. As descendants of hunter-gatherers, accumulating is in our blood, but how you go about it depends on whether you are male or female.

When people move from one city or country to another, the spread of diseases may result. People often bring in germs which may not have been present there before. These new germs can spread quickly and cause previously unknown diseases. __________________________________. They become ill more easily and could even die. In turn, newcomers may catch diseases which were not present where they came from.