From improper food habits and sedentary lifestyle to heredity, an expert dissects the weighty problem
Childhood obesity, one of the most complex and least understood clinical syndromes in paediatric medicine is a disease of epidemic proportions. A recent study in Mumbai found that 10.1 per cent of 7-year-olds were obese. This is a large number and means that one out of every 10 children is obese.
Childhood obesity is the root cause of diseases in adulthood. Symptoms of obesity range from backache, laziness, headaches, joint problems and poor sleep to problems in school, psychological difficulties and emotional insecurity. Obese kids risk developing Type-II diabetes.
There are many reasons for obesity. The most obvious being eating too much, having wrong kind of food and sedentary lifestyle. Think of your child’s body as a jug. If you put more water in it than you take out, then the water would collect in the jug and spill out. Similarly, they put on weight if the amount of energy in the foods and drinks consumed is more than the amount needed for their growth and physical activity. Research has concluded the following reasons for obesity:
- Infant birth weight: Weight of your child at birth is a factor associated with childhood obesity, which may also have a role to play in chronic diseases later in adulthood.
- Hereditary: Surprisingly, one of the common reasons of obesity is the gene that we inherit from our parents and close relatives. Genetic factors also include behavioural predispositions that affect our children's food intake and interest in exercise.
- Sedentary Lifestyle: Because of computer games, gizmos and other indoor activities, children are spending lesser time playing sports. They burn less calories and thus tend to gain weight. Along with sedentary lifestyle, there is also academic pressure that our children face every day. There is homework, tuitions, exams, grades etc to worry about and these pressures often result in less physical activity.
- Eating habits: Excess snacking on junk food and chomping in between meals can lead to weight gain.
- Underlying diseases: Hyperthyroidism, oedema, cushings syndrome can lead to obesity. Medical help is necessary to identify them.
- Media: Famous media personalities endorse aerated drinks, fried foods like chips that give nothing but empty calories. Children take these personalities as their role models and ape them.
- Advertising gimmicks: Free gifts given with chips, chocolate et al encourage kids as well as parents to buy foods that they don't require.
- Home environment: This works in two ways. Grandparents dote on their grandchildren and fill their tummies with ghee and sugar-rich food. On the other hand, if both the parents are working, mothers prefer to buy ready-to-eat snacks rather than cook at home. These snacks are rich in sodium, sugar and fat, leading to accumulation of body fat. — Preetika Ghura. Nutritionist
Child obesity is a serious paediatric hazard. An exact rate is difficult to determine but in a class of 60, at least 30 are obese. The problem is that either parents aren’t aware about child obesity or are unwilling to accept it. Obesity starts by the age of four and once triggered, it cannot be controlled as the appetite has increased. In the long term, this can lead to heart attacks, diabetes, hypertension and a never-ending list of ailments.
Today, children lead sedentary lives and even parents don't have the time to play with children. Outings now are more about going to malls, not beaches. Food habits include pizzas and burgers. If parents are obese, so will be the child.” — Dr Snehalata Deshmukh. Paediatric Surgeon
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