Most of the children find it quite fascinating to fulfill their tiny stomach with the trendy foods. There has been an alarming increase in the childhood obesity ratio over the last two decades. You need to know that a normal burger gives you 300 calories. Likewise, a regular pizza can pour in 600- 800 calories in your body.
According to reports, 20% of the Indian school going children are overweight. It is estimated that the 15% of the student population is at the risk of being overweight. This is a self inflicted epidemic and has to be dealt with equal vigilance. Various health consequences have come up like :
- §Type 2 Diabetes:It is proved that abdominal obesity is the root cause of Type 2 diabetes and is increasing at an alarming rate among the children in India.
- §Metabolic syndrome:Most of the Indian children have reported to have insulin resistance.
- §Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome:Most of the adolescent girls who are obese have been suffering from the PCOS, a hormonal imbalance that upsets the gynecologic balance in the body leading to acne, irregular menstrual cycles and insulin resistance.
- §Sub clinical inflammation:Obesity leads to vascular inflammation and has a high prevalence in India.
Socio Cultural issues that lead to child obesity:
- 1.A general misconception is prevalent in India that the obese child is a healthy child and the so called “ baby fat” will vanish as the child grows. Since the child is constantly fed it becomes obese and remains the same throughout the life.
- 2.Burdening the students with the studies and academic activities has left no room for physical activities. This is more prevalent among the girls who live a sedentary lifestyle when compared to the boys.
- 3.Since most of the parents are working they find it extremely difficult to manage time and so order for “ junk foods.
- 4.Most of the children are found to be spending more time in front of the computers and the television. So no time for play.
Various community intervention programs have been introduced to induce the students to follow a healthy lifestyle and creating awareness about the importance of physical activities among the children
