Losing belly fat, intermittent fasting for weight loss – doctor, YouTube star ‘Dr Pal’ uses humour to promote healthy living
- Known on social media as Dr Pal, gastroenterologist Dr Palaniappan Manickam uses humour to convey his messages about how to lose excess weight
- He has a popular YouTube channel and performs stand-up comedy, and uses these platforms to share advice about fasting, losing belly fat and having a healthy gut
“Long ago patients used to come for doctor’s advice. Nowadays, doctors wait patiently for patients’ advice,” says Dr Pal, speaking humorously about patients googling their complaints and finding solutions for themselves before they see a doctor.
Born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, in South India, Dr Pal, or Dr Palaniappan Manickam to give him his full name, is a gastroenterologist with a master’s degree in public health who works in a hospital in Sacramento, California. It was by chance that he became a social media sensation, attracting 970,000 followers on Instagram with the handle @Dr Pal.manickam, and more than 1.5 million followers on his YouTube channel, @DrPal.
“When I submitted it, they said that my video was more like stand-up comedy than the serious video that they were looking for,” Manickam says.
He was wondering what to do with the video, into which he had put a lot of effort, when a friend suggested he upload it to YouTube. He did so, and woke up the next morning to see it had gone viral, with many comments from viewers.
He had been initiated into “medcom” – medical comedy.
