Now, Ahmedabad schools send kids’ paunch report

Childhood obesity, a disease induced by lifestyles funded by fat wallets, is the heaviest health anxiety of parents across the world; Ahmedabad, where money and food are devoured, had a slim chance of escaping the malaise. And Amdavad schools know that the chance had been all but lost.

It is a well-established practice in schools of the developed world to document students’ height and weight figures with the same rigour that applies to the measurement of academic development. Some schools in few of the Indian metros adopted that practice a couple of years ago.

Now, many Ahmedabad schools have put their weight behind the campaign to beat obesity. The schools have begun to counsel parents whose kids are on the verge of becoming obese.  

A case in point is the nine-year-old Jehan, who weighed 40 kg when he was only eight years old. His mother Chandni Dalal, an event planner, was alerted in time by the school authorities. Owing to the timely warning and subsequent corrective action, Jehan lost 5 kg within six months. And heeding the school’s advice, Dalal has banned cheese, maida, and junk food at home.
Dalal is grateful to the school.

“I had never noticed Jehan was a fat kid till his school authorities counselled me,” she said. “They told me that he could become obese and the condition could have a negative impact on his overall development.” These days, Jehan regularly works out for an hour, and has stopped watching TV while he eats.

“Now he himself says ‘no’ to junk food,” Dalal said. “He attends birthday parties but knows what foods to avoid.” Dalal believes that there are many distinguished schools in the city which think students’ health does not fall within their remit.