The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Nutritional obesity common among children

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Tuesday, Dec 02, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Nutritional obesity common among children

Afshan Yasmeen

Children can be obese because of inadequate nutrition or hormonal imbalance
Parents must inculcate healthy eating habits
in their child

Bangalore: With a jet-setting career and a high-stress job, M. Sandhya is hardly able to pack a nutritious meal for her 10-year-old daughter M. Chaitra, who has developed a craving for chips, fries, pizzas, burgers and fizzy drinks.

Studying in a school which does not have a proper playground, Chaitra is busy with tuitions after school till 8 p.m. After completing her homework, watching her favourite TV cartoon show and playing computer games for some time, she hardly has any time left for physical activity. At 49 kg, she is way past the ideal body weight for her age.

Chaitra is just one of the scores of children who have developed nutritional obesity owing to decreased physical activity and increased intake of largely empty calories.

Children can be obese either because of inadequate nutrition or hormonal imbalance, though the former is the most common form of obesity among children. Those who suffer from hormonal obesity generally do not grow very tall, on the other hand those who have nutritional obesity grow very tall as well, doctors pointed out.

With experts warning that 80 per cent of overweight children in the age group of 10 to 14 years are at the risk of becoming overweight adults, obesity has become a serious cause of concern.

T.R. Rekha, dietician at Manipal Care and Cure, blames the changing lifestyle for this. “With most people having high disposable incomes and leading sedentary and stressful lives, they hardly find time to regulate their child’s eating habits. It is important for the parents to inculcate healthy eating habits in their child and ensure a balanced diet,” she said. “There is a section of children that rarely goes out to play and is contented with gaming, watching television at home, munching on junk, while adults seem to lead an erratic lifestyle that includes very little exercise and hours in front of the computer,” she said.

Childhood obesity increases the child’s susceptibility to diabetes, high blood pressure and lipid abnormality. “The clinical signs which indicate that the child is at risk for metabolic obesity can be seen when you notice a black discoloration of the skin around the neck and also thickening of the skin on the neck and knees. This condition is known as “acanthosis nigricans,” said paediatrician (endocrinology) Kavitha Bhat.

“If the obese child is snoring in his sleep, then this indicates that the child has a breathing problem due to the excess weight and needs to be treated immediately. They can also develop liver diseases like cirrhosis. They can also suffer from joint problems,” she explained.

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