Opt for healthier options
SUMANASKA JAGARLAPUDI
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Sweets are delightful, but obesity is not. What are you going to do about it?
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PHOTO: AP
A GREAT GAME: For body, mind and soul
No matter how big or small the festival, it never fails to fill the air with a sense of joy and togetherness and what better way to bring in the festivities than sweets. But over indulgence can invite health troubles like obesity which can be a major problem, particularly in children.
Get going
Children who are obese run the risk of staying obese as adults. Obesity may be genetic or can arise due to faulty eating habits, overeating and lifestyle disorders. Many recent cases of obesity in children are a contribution of lifestyle disorders like intake of junk food, excessive T.V time and leading a sedentary lifestyle.
Children need a good amount of physical activity, but of late that has been substituted with video games and watching cartoons. To compensate for this lack of physical activity children as young as 11 are visiting the gym to knock off that fat.
“I have started running on the treadmill as I hardly had any time left after school work to play with my friends,“ says R.Keertana a Std VIII student of DPS, Diamond Point.
Affected young
One of the biggest threats of obesity is juvenile diabetes that can be seen in children as young as seven years old. “There have been many cases of juvenile diabetes in Hyderabad in recent times which is alarming,” says Aafreen Fatima, Nutritionist at Kamineni Wockhart Hospital.
Though sweets cannot be totally banned, children can be given healthier options.
“Parents can opt for sweets made out of jaggery and whey protein which contains more iron.
Till ke laddu , Chikki and sweets that contain honey rather than sugar have essential fatty acids and also fill the stomach” says Aafreen. “Children must consume food with lesser fat like fortified cereals, pulses, vegetables, egg white and so on.
They must play and indulge in physical activity atleast for a few hours to keep away that fat from accumulating and eating in front of the T.V is a strict NO.”
So folks, it's better late than never.
Lets get moving and go easy on French fries. The drill might just help you become a super model after a few years if that's your dream apart from adding years of good health.
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