Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child’s health or well-being. India has the second highest number of obese children in the world, with 14.4 million reported cases, according to a new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Body:

Causes:

Children become overweight and obese for a variety of reasons. The most common causes are genetic factors, lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns, or a combination of these factors. Only in rare cases is being overweight caused by a medical condition such as a hormonal problem. A poor diet containing high levels of fat or sugar and few nutrients can cause kids to gain weight quickly. Fast food, candy, and soft drinks are common culprits. Convenience foods, such as frozen dinners, salty snacks, and canned pastas, can also contribute to unhealthy weight gain.

Effects on health:

• Physical
  • Childhood obesity however can also lead to life-threatening conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep problems, cancer, and other disorders.
  • Some of the other disorders would include liver disease, early puberty or menarche, eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, skin infections, and asthma and other respiratory problems.
  • The early physical effects of obesity in adolescence include, almost all of the child’s organs being affected, gallstones, hepatitis, sleep apnoea and increased intracranial pressure.
  • Overweight children are also more likely to grow up to be overweight adults.
  • Obesity during adolescence has been found to increase mortality rates during adulthood.
  • A 2008 study has found that children who are obese have carotid arteries which have prematurely aged by as much as thirty years as well as abnormal levels of cholesterol.
• Psychological:
  • The first problems to occur in obese children are usually emotional or psychological.
  • Obese children often experience bullying by their peers.
  • Some are harassed or discriminated against by their own family.
  • Stereotypes abound and may lead to low self-esteem and depression.
• Long-term effects
  • Children who are obese are likely to be obese as adults. Thus, they are more at risk for adult health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis.
  • One study showed that children who became obese as early as age 2 were more likely to be obese as adults.
  • According to an article in The New York Times all of these health effects are contributing to a shorter lifespan of five years for these obese children.

Measures to tackle it:

• Educate the child about childhood obesity: We all have cravings but it is important to balance it out with healthy food and educating children regarding this is at a young age is important.
• The longer babies are breastfed, the less likely they are to become overweight as they grow older. Breastfed babies are 15 to 25 percent less likely to become overweight. For those who are breastfed for six months or longer, the likelihood is 20 to 40 percent less.
• Gradually work to change family eating habits and activity levels rather than focusing on weight. Change the habits and the weight will take care of itself.
• Be a role model. Parents who eat healthy foods and are physically activity set an example that increases the likelihood their children will do the same.
• Encourage physical activity. Children should have an hour of moderate physical activity most days of the week. More than an hour of activity may promote weight loss and subsequent maintenance.
• Mandatory minimum grounds size and other sports infrastructure by strict implementation of RTE act norms.
• The new guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5 years of age were developed by a WHO panel of experts. It must be implemented
• Reduce time in front of the TV and computer to less than two hours a day.
• Encourage children to eat only when hungry, and to eat slowly.
• Avoid using food as a reward or withholding food as a punishment.
• Keep the refrigerator stocked with fat-free or low-fat milk and fresh fruit and vegetables instead of soft drinks and snacks high in sugar and fat.
• Serve at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
• Encourage children to drink water rather than beverages with added sugar, such as soft drinks, sports drinks and fruit juice drinks.
• Millets can also help tackle health challenges such as obesity, diabetes and lifestyle problems as they are gluten free, have a low glycemic index and are high in dietary fibre and antioxidants.
• Guidelines for Junk foods – prohibition of junk food around school, introduction of sin tax on the junk food
• Construction of parks and leave open spaces in colonies (urban planning) so that children do not remain busy with indoor activity like video games, computer games.
• Organisation of sport competitions at local level by municipalities, societies etc.

Conclusion:

Investing in early childhood development is one of the best investments a country can make to boost economic growth, promote peaceful and sustainable societies, and eliminate extreme poverty and inequality. Equally important, it is necessary to uphold the right of every child to survive and thrive.