Notes from Revivo’s Obesity Meet

“How many of you weigh yourself every day?”

About 90% of the people in the room raise their hands. We are at Revivo Metabolism Clinic’s Obesity Action Meet, and co-founder Arvind Ashok is on stage. 

He shrugs, with characteristic candour. “How much we weigh is a stupid number to base our entire self-worth on. It’s a very one-dimensional, short-sighted data point. It doesn’t tell you how much muscle you have. It doesn’t tell you how much fat you have.” He then adds, “Replace your goal of weight loss with the harder, but more useful goal of building muscle.” 

It is a message that feels especially relevant now, as GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro gain popularity in India. Ozempic, once considered a ‘celebrity drug’ is becoming more accessible. As prices fall, it is being prescribed more widely, pushing the fitness industry to grapple with a new reality. If weight loss is going to be increasingly pharmacologically assisted, should the way we approach it change? And should doctors, dietitians and coaches rethink their methods? 

Arvind does a demo on the InBody machine
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Arvind, who also co-founded The Quad, Chennai’s popular functional training and fitness coaching outfit, has spent his career teaching people how to move — and feel — better. Now, as GLP-1 drugs become more visible, he is intensifying that mission. 

Alongside Dr Arun Raghavan, his co-founder at Revivo, Arvind emphasises the need to build muscle, whether you are trying to lose weight with pharmacological help or the old-fashioned way. More importantly, they are working to reverse the stigma that comes with being overweight by underlining the idea that obesity is not a choice. It is a metabolic disease. 

Calling obesity “the villain of the 21st Century,” Dr Arun says it is important to look at weight loss through “a multi-dimensional model of care”. Quoting the World Obesity Federation, he notes that at current rates, “in 10 years, about half the people living globally are likely to face obesity”. He adds that it is a growing challenge in India, where abdominal obesity is on the rise since visceral fat  is the most detrimental to health. 

While the contemporary Indian plate — and the insulin spike it can cause — plays a role here, sports and preventive nutritionist Shiny Surendran also acknowledges how weight loss gets harder for women as they get older. 

“For a woman, every decade brings a big shift. The uterus and two ovaries really play up,” she says, adding with disarming honesty, “I underwent IVF. And after all that, I discovered I was diabetic. My perimenopause journey started during the pandemic. And no matter what I did, nothing moved on the scale or my dress size. To read about it is one thing; to go through it is terrible.” 

It quickly becomes clear why Shiny is so popular as a nutritionist: her suggestions to eat better come with empathy and common sense. “You try telling a South Indian or Bengali not to eat rice and that is it. They won’t come for follow-ups,” she smiles, suggesting tweaks: pairing protein and fibre with every meal, optimising meal sequencing by starting with rasam or buttermilk, then eating protein and vegetables before rice. 

She adds, “It will be hard. But for one week, grit your teeth and get through it. You need to give your body time. The cravings will vanish one by one.” 

A discussion in progress
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Raj Ganpath, co-founder of The Quad and author of Simple, Not Easy, popular on social media for his practical advice on nutrition, follows with a deep dive into the reptilian brain and why our bodies are designed to resist weight loss. He adds sobering statistics: “Lifestyle interventions only work for about 40% of people, and about 90% of them gain back what they lose in two to five years.” 

His answer? “Do less.” 

Raj explains: “Nothing happens overnight. Slow down. Make small, tiny changes. And if you need to, get help — whether it is a protein powder, a coach or a doctor.” 

On cue, Dr Supratik Bhattacharya, Kolkata-based endocrinologist, says with a laugh, “I’m the bad guy. You go to Shiny, then Raj and Arvind and then, possibly, me.” He adds, “These are the pillars to success. There is no substitute for dietary modifications and the lifestyle changes that go with it. However, obesity is a chronic problem. There are genetic and environmental factors that contribute to it.” 

He explains what a GLP-1 is and addresses the myths around it saying, “It is not a vanity drug. It’s a metabolic drug. It works on appetite regulation. It cuts out pleasure eating. And we see patients on it get stronger, provided they eat healthy and weight train.” 

Most conferences end with paneer butter masala and gulab jamuns for lunch. This one ends with an InBody reading. Unlike the weighing scale, the machine also gives participants their body fat percentage, skeletal muscle mass and visceral fat level. 

It is the quietest ending to a conference I have ever attended, as people study their readings with sober concentration. But at least my numbers — combined with the morning’s pep talks and information — should keep me off gulab jamuns for a while.

Published – March 03, 2026 12:18 pm IST