Obesity in Childhood: Why are Indian children becoming so obese, Why ?
The
number of children who are obese is alarmingly rising, especially in India,
which tops the list of nations where children do not develop proportionately to
their ages. If this issue is not under control, experts have warned that it
would spread like an epidemic.
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| Obesity in Childhood |
A
person is deemed overweight by the World Health Organization (WHO) if their BMI
is 25 or above.
With
an estimated 1.8 million youngsters suffering from obesity, and this figure is
rising, India is said to be the country with the highest rate of obesity.
The
most thorough house-to-house study to date, the 2019–2021 National Family
Health Survey, or NFHS-5, found that 3.4% of children under the age of five
were overweight. This proportion was down from 2.1 percent in 2015–16.
This
proportion may appear low, but given the size of the Indian population, Dr.
Arjun de Vagt, chief of nutrition at UNICEF India, believes it might actually
be a very high amount.
India
is expected to have more than 27 million obese children by 2030 and 10 obese
children worldwide, according to UNICEF's 2022 obesity map.
India
is ranked 99th in the index out of 183 nations. If readiness and its effects on
the economy are taken into account, the cost might increase from US$23 billion
in 2019 to US$479 billion by 2060.
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| Obesity in Childhood |
According
to the United Nations Health Organization, having too much body fat raises your
chance of developing non-communicable diseases including type 2 diabetes, heart
disease, lung disease, and several forms of cancer, as well as early mortality.
May be.
Globally,
2.8 million individuals passed away in 2014 as a result of obesity.
On the
list of nations with the most obese adults, India is now ranked fifth.
In
India, the number of persons who were overweight or obese in 2016 was estimated
to be 13.5 million, and the figure was rising.
Dr. DE
Wag-t estimates that 36% of Indian children under the age of five do not
develop normally for their age. Over nutrition counters the progress we are
making in the fight against undernutrition.
According
to Dr. DE Wag-t, a person might be both malnourished and over nourished at the
same time. The reason of overweight and obesity is overeating; however, this
does not imply that the individual is receiving all the nutrients their body
requires.
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| Obesity in Childhood |
The
youngster will avoid both under- and over-nutrition if they are provided a
balanced diet that contains carbs, proteins, vitamins, fruits, and vegetables,
according to him. But people don't know what healthy eating is, so they consume
more calories and readily available food in order to fill their stomachs.
The
results, according to Dr. de Vagt, demonstrate that while childhood obesity
affects people from all socioeconomic levels, it is more prevalent in urban
areas and in households with higher incomes when such foods and beverages are
provided to children. They include a lot of salt, sugar, and fat.
Max
Healthcare performed a survey in Delhi and the surrounding area in 2019. This
study covered kids between the ages of five and seventeen. At least 40% of
these kids were fat or overweight.
Teenagers
frequently eat late-night munchies and sleep late at night, according to Dr.
Kobe.
They
become sluggish after eating late at night, which means they don't burn any
calories. Instead, they fall asleep and sleep all day.
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| Obesity in Childhood |
Additionally,
instead of playing and running about, kids spend the majority of their time on
phones and computers.
He
also cautioned that obesity's consequences touch every element of life, including
psychological and social dimensions, in addition to its physical repercussions.
Such kids frequently experience discrimination and social isolation.
Surgeon
Dr. Ravinder Kumaran practises in Chennai, India, in the country's south. He is
employed by a nonprofit that fights obesity in India. He claims that without we
engage with kids, we won't be able to address the obesity issue in the nation.
They
claim that if you watch TV for a half-hour right now, you'll see a lot of ads
for soft drinks and junk food. Stopping the persistent misrepresentation about
harmful fast food is crucial. And the government alone can carry out this
function.
They
also claim that more kids need to leave the house.
He
asserts, "As a nation, we place little value on physical health. Our
cities lack playgrounds for kids, safe bike lanes, and sidewalks.
According
to So-mal M-ajumdar, co-founder and CEO of Sports-Village, an Organisation
focused on young athletics that aims to bring about change.
According
to reports, most of our schools offer the safest areas for kids to play, thus
they must help fight obesity.
One in
two youngsters had a body mass index that was not at a healthy level, according
to a survey of more than 250,000 kids. Many kids lacked the capacity to adapt
to change because their stomachs were ill or they lacked adequate physical
strength. The same is true for the head and torso.
It is
not a matter of policy, claims Majumdar. Physical education is taught in all
schools, but students who excel in it typically receive the most attention.
Children who do not like the game do not so enjoy it.
In the
same way that we think children should only study the fundamentals of any topic
in school, we think they should also be taught the fundamentals of fitness.
He
claims that the school he worked with improved in the years that followed.
"In certain instances, we witnessed improvements in fitness levels ranging from five to seventeen percent, and we encouraged more females to participate in sports. I believe athletics may help to tackle global issues "Added he.
(CRedit: BBC Urdu)
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