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The Girth Curve The number of overweight children has increased from 16% in 2004 to 28% this year in the national capital, according to a study Amitabh Baxi YOU could thank those mouth-watering burgers and pizzas for this. Eat this - More young Indians are becoming fatter and according to an ongoing study on obesity, the percentage of obese teens has shot up from 16% in 2004 to 28% in 2006 in New Delhi, an alarming increase of almost 100%. Surprised? Blame it on your diet. Since the physical activity of most of the children and adolescents has not changed dramatically over the last few years, experts are attributing the rise in obesity levels in the metros to increased consumption of junk food. Already, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), childhood obesity has become an epidemic in the developed countries and is on the rise in the developing countries such as India, China and Japan. It is estimated that 17.6 million children under five are estimated to be overweight worldwide. Childhood obesity is rapidly becoming a major global health problem and the overweight and obese children and adolescents are at a very high risk for the development of early-onset of diabetes mellitus and heart disease. In fact, a research study conducted by Prof. Anoop Misra, (director, department of diabetes and metabolic diseases, Fortis Hospitals, Delhi, member, WHO Expert Committee, and ICMR Task Force on Childhood Obesity) and AIIMS chief dietician Rekha Sharma has shown that every second adult in New Delhi fulfills the criteria of obesity. The study shows that 16-18% of the children were overweight/ obese in 2004, but it has strikingly increased to 28% in 2006. Obesity causes Syndrome X (present in 26% of school children), which is a precursor of youth-onset diabetes. Nearly 50-70% of the obese children will become obese adults, and suffer not only from diabetes, but also stroke, liver disease, infertility, hypertension, arthritis, and cancers. Further in-depth studies by Dr Misra's team show that these children also have a high risk for development of early heart disease since 13-25% of them showed high levels of C-reactive protein, which is a robust predictor of early and severe heart disease in future. The other risk factors of heart disease were also high in these school children and 40-50% had increased triglycerides (blood fat) levels, while 30-70% had low HDL (good cholesterol) levels. Interestingly, says Dr Misra, consumption of junk food has shot up dramatically over the last three years. "Although we're still compiling data, initial results show that 30% of the school children ate out regularly in 2003-04, while the figure in 2006 stands at 40-45%. This includes the kids who eat out at schools, with parents or on their own. Again, while 5% of the children ate outside their house everyday in 2003, now about 8% of them eat out everyday. The scenario has changed drastically in a short span of time," Dr Misra observes. That's an alarming figure. And considering the severity of the problem, the Diabetes Foundation, with financial support from the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF), has initiated a programme to create awareness about diabetes, obesity, lipid disorders and heart disease in children and adolescents and teach them optimal dietary and lifestyle practices for prevention of diseases so that they could act as change agents to disseminate messages regarding healthy living to peers and family. In the programme, more than 50,000 school children (aged 9-18 years) of three major cities in north India (New Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra) would be educated over a period of three years. A total of 30 schools would be included in the awareness programme. Innovative and locally appropriate education strategies would be used for the intervention. Knowledge, attitude and practice survey and other operational research would be carried out. Under the programme, 120 students and 60 physical education teachers would be trained as volunteers to help in dissemination of the nutrition and health messages. Nearly 10,000 parents would be educated in above issues. "We are witnessing a large scale pandemic in terms of overweight and obesity, and related chronic diseases. Raised body mass index is a major risk factor for type II diabetes. If we are to succeed in our efforts to stem the rising burden of diabetes, obesity, hypertension and heart diseases, we must ensure that the coming generation learns to live a healthier lifestyle and proactively supports projects that target health promotion and education for the general population and particularly addressing school children. WDF considers this new focus area to be of vital importance for the prevention of diabetes in the developing countries," says Dr Anil Kapur, managing director of the World Diabetes Foundation in Denmark. "With the increase in adiposity and cardiovascular risk factors in childhood mainly due to marked shifts in dietary and lifestyle practices, we believe that a programme focusing on the primary prevention of obesity and inculcation of healthy diet and lifestyle practices is urgently needed," explains Prof Misra. The programme also emphasises that there should be a regular monitoring of body measurements (such as height, weight, waist circumference) in order to diagnose and prevent the initiation of any heart-related problem. "We hope that this would initiate changes in nutrition and lifestyle of children, and would lead to prevention of diabetes and heart disease. We also hope that this important health initiative would lead to a major health movement all over India," elaborates Prof Misra. You are what you eat. Think about it! BITTER SWEET . Estimates for diabetes: The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that more than 230 million people are suffering from diabetes and the number is expected to increase to 350 million people by 2025. India has the largest diabetes population in the world with an estimated 40 million people in 2006-7, amounting to 8% of the adult population. . WHO says more than 1 billion adults around the world are overweight and 300 million of them are obese, putting them at a much higher risk of diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure, stroke and some forms of cancer. Of special concern is the increasing incidence of child obesity. . WHO estimates that diabetes, heart disease and stroke together will cost about $555.7 billion in lost national income in China over the next 10 years, $303.2 billion in the Russian Federation; $336.6 billion in India; $49.2 billion in Brazil and $2.5 billion even in a very poor country like Tanzania. These estimates are based on lost productivity, resulting primarily from premature death. URL : http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=RVRNLzIwMDYvMTEvMDUjQXIwMTAwMA==&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom |
