The chubby cheeks are no longer assets worth flaunting, as these could be the early symptoms of obesity. On Anti-Obesity Day, November 26, doctors in the city caution about the disturbing trend of increasing instances of childhood obesity, commonly known as puppy fat. “Most parents underestimate the risks of child obesity. When parents were asked how they perceived their son or daughter’s weight, giving them a choice of five responses like ‘very underweight’', ‘underweight’, ‘normal’, ‘overweight’ and ‘very overweight’, almost 70 per cent of those with overweight or obese children described their son or daughter’s weight as normal. It only goes on to show that parents neglect the initial symptoms of obesity,” said Manjari Chandra, chief dietician, Columbia Asia Referral Hospital, Yeshwanthpur. She said parents play a key role in children’s food intake and physical activity, so parental recognition of childhood obesity is fundamental to its prevention. Childhood obesity is the leading cause of childhood hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
According to India’s latest National Family Health Survey more than 20 per cent of urban Indians are overweight or obese. While sedentary lifestyles and improper diet largely contribute to this condition, a large part of India’s population is still ignorant and do not realise the dangers obesity. “There is a growing need to create awareness among people, specifically children and youngsters on the health hazards resulting from Obesity. It is a fad amongst youngsters to eat junk food and aerated drinks and hangout in fast food eating joints,” said Dr H V Shivaram consultant surgeon and chief of gastrointestinal and bariatric surgery. He said an increasing number of youngsters in the 18 - 25 age group have had to undergo bariatric surgery. The cause lies in childhood obesity which is usually not detected on time.
“In India Obesity has reached epidemic proportions, with morbid obesity affecting 5 per cent of the country’s population. And to add to the woes is the fact that Indians are genetically susceptible to weight accumulation,” said Dr Ravishankar Bhat, Apollo Hospital. This explains why it is essential to control obesity at childhood itself. “Childhood obesity is signaling a distressingly new health trend, and one in every 25 children is obese these days,” added the doctor.
