Hyderabad: Obesity-induced diabetes in children is seen in clinics these days, but this was not so a decade ago. Dietary habits like consumption of fizzy drinks, sugary syrups, sugar-based foods and a large variety of ready-to-eat foods have exposed children to diets that are high in calorie.
This ends up in increasing their weight. With a sedentary lifestyle, this is leading to the early advent of diabetes. Dr Ravi Sankar Erukualpati, senior consultant endocrinologist, explained, “Obesity in children is found to be a major reason for diabetes. The children study, eat and sleep. There is very little time to exercise. Many kids do not walk as they mostly travel around in cars. This kind of a set-up requires of parents to make concerted efforts to change their lifecycle. But once diabetes sets in, there are other issues that they have to take care of. So, before coming to this stage, making the necessary changes will help.”
With more and more children turning up at clinics, experts say creating an awareness about a balanced lifestyle, where physical activity must be inculcated for good health, is important.
