Childhood obesity is on the rise where any child whose body mass index (BMI) is significantly higher than other children of his age and gender, is called obese. According to the World Health Organization, while less than 1% of children and adolescents aged 5-19 were obese in 1975, more 124 million (6% of girls and 8% of boys) were obese in 2016.
Hidden dangers of childhood obesity:
In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Abhishek Chopra, Consultant Neonatologist and Paediatrician at Cloudnine Group of Hospitals in New Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh, revealed, “The global rise in childhood obesity is driven by more physical inactivity and unlimited supply of unhealthy processed, ready to eat, calorie dense foods that unfortunately do not love children as much as children love them. When a child becomes obese it is through a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors such as socio economic status, education level, basal metabolic rate, diet and life style.”
He highlighted, “Childhood obesity is associated with problems of high blood pressure, blood lipids and blood glucose and these problems track into adulthood. This combination of factors is in turn linked with damage to the arteries and heart, which can be reversed with exercise in children but much less so in adults. Obese children are five times more likely to become obese adults than their healthy weight peers. Childhood is a window of opportunity to tackle obesity before the damage it causes is irreversible.Compared to children with a low body mass index (BMI), those with a high BMI are 40% more likely to suffer from Cardio vascular disease in midlife. Children with a combination of risk factors including smoking and high BMI, blood pressure and blood lipids have a two- to nine-fold greater risk of heart attack and stroke in midlife.”
How to protect your child’s future:
According to Dr Abhishek Chopra, school-age young people should do at least 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activity. He suggested, “In addition, muscle strengthening activities should be done at least three times per week. Sedentary time, particularly screen time, should be limited. Regarding diet, children should eat an adequate breakfast, avoid eating between meals, eat three meals and no more than two snacks per day, limit portion sizes, avoid energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods such as fruit juices or fast food, increase intake of unprocessed fruit, vegetables and fibre-rich cereals, and lower fat and sugar intake.”
A range of policies and actions are needed to stop obesity and the associated problems in their tracks. Central to these are physical activity and nutrition. Dr Abhishek Chopra opined that policymakers should:
- Promote physical activity and raise awareness of the need to reduce sedentary time
- Encourage healthy eating habits
- Provide diet counselling and psychological support for behaviour change
- Reduce unhealthy food marketing in media and social media
- Promote parenting styles that encourage physical activity and healthy eating
- Avoid stigmatisation
- Involve schools, family and friends in education programmes
- Increase availability and affordability of healthy food
- Provide playgrounds and green spaces to be physically active in urban settings.
Dr Abhishek Chopra asserted, “Policies to stop cardiovascular diseases later in life need to go beyond just telling young people to exercise and eat a healthy diet. If there are no spaces to enjoy being active and nutritious food is unavailable or unaffordable, it is very difficult to change behaviour. Some children will benefit from psychological support to understand which habits are problematic and how to develop new ones. And instead of criticising children for being inactive and eating junk food, schools and parents can show that being physically active and preparing healthy food is fun.”
He further recommended, “Schools should take the lead with healthy school meals, cooking classes, education about nutrition and activity, and sports clubs. Family and friends should be invited to take part, as both have an influence on a child’s lifestyle and weight. Most children are exposed to promotion and marketing of products such as fast food and sugar-sweetened beverages up to about 200 times per week on social media. Marketing of unhealthy food and drink should be minimised or prohibited, especially in schools, since it influences children’s behaviour.”
We should avoid stigmatisation of overweight and obese children as this could push them towards eating disorders and inactivity. Dr Abhishek Chopra concluded, “At school level, for example, all children and families may benefit from prevention strategies, from the healthy canteen to active breaks. Prevention of cardiovascular diseases needs to start early. Rather than wait and see whether or not today’s obese children become tomorrow’s heart attacks and strokes, an action plan is needed now to put a halt to future health problems. We already know that obesity is harming children’s health.”
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.