Chubby Cheeks Or Heart-Healthy Children?
Childhood obesity is now a serious medical condition that needs a much deeper insight than ever before. Obese children are above the normal weight for their age and height. A majority of obese children grow up into obese adults, more so if one or both parents are also obese.
Childhood obesity can be particularly troubling as the extra kilos/pounds gained during these important years can lay down the path to health issues like diabetes, high cholesterol , asthma , sleep disorders and high blood pressure. It is nowadays common for even 12 year olds to be diagnosed with fatty livers. Young girls are dealing with early onset of periods followed by insulin-resistant conditions like pcod/pcos. Being overweight or obese during childhood and teenage leads to poor self-esteem and may be one of the causes of teenage depression which is widely common . Michelle Obama has taken this issue seriously in the U.S and is campaigning actively for it. India is fast becoming the diabetes capital of the world and a growing number of prediabetics have a history of being overweight during childhood and teenage. There is a general misconception in parents in India and other developing countries that a chubby & overweight child is a healthy child. Or “baby fat” will go away with time in case of overfed children. On an average, every month I get 2-3 cases of overweight children between the ages of 9-14 years. As per a Huffington post dated june2017, India has the second highest number of obese children in the world.
Various factors that contribute to childhood obesity are :
- Introduction of junk and fast food, both globally as well as in India is a major contributing factor. The portions are supersized now as compared to 20 years back, when junk food giants opened their outlets in India. Servings of soft drinks, fries, burgers, and desserts are double of what used to be considered a standard serving till 20 years back. In fact, there was no concept of small, medium & large servings of cold drinks before that.
- Lack of exercise : Children are becoming less physically active now. Thanks to technological advancement, today’s younger generation is happier playing virtual soccer/ games on mobiles & gadgets rather than moving or running around themselves. Games like hide ‘n’ seek, badminton in evenings, cycling are forgotten pastimes of the previous generation now. High burden of school work and academic competitiveness have led to decreased participation in sports and any other form of physical activity. And this is true for both girls as well as boys.
- Genetic factors : With terms like obesity, diabetes & hypertension ruling our family health assessment sheet, often children of obese/ diabetic/ insulin resistant parents run the risk of acquiring metabolic disorders when they reach adulthood.
- With more urban couples where both spouses are working, parents are often overworked and find it easy to let children order “fast foods” and hardly have any time to oversee balanced nutrition for children.
A few mindful measures can help address the issue considerably :-
1) “Food-wise” adults can lead their children by example. Interestingly, the french people start making their children “FOOD-WISE” right from the beginning, with rules like - children will eat what adults eat; Finish what’s on your plate; Eat your vegetables. Ensure that dinner time becomes valuable family time and it is best to avoid watching television while eating. This is one of the first basic steps towards learning to eat mindfully. Ensures bonding over food and makes one more aware of smell, taste, texture of food.
2) Children should be encouraged to be physically active. Taking up a sport or a hobby is advisable. It would be good to involve children in activities like walking the pet, help in weekly car-wash or to introduce them to new indoor sports when weather conditions are not conducive to go out.
3) Meals at home should be more nutrient-dense & natural foods instead of processed & packaged food. Encourage your children to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables to help them avoid vitamin deficiencies.
4) Most of the sugar & calories can be avoided by skipping the sweetened beverages. And opting to keep “healthier” desserts at home.
5) It is commonly observed that many parents prefer feeding their toddlers in front of television to make meal times easy & hassle-free. Discourage “Emotional eating”. Avoid rewarding children with sweets/ chocolates/ unhealthy foods. The rewards could be a gift/ a new book or a dress/ toy . Try and disassociate food from emotions.
So, apart from building bank balances for our children and investing in their higher education, it is also important to invest some time and attention to their eating patterns. As John.F. Kennedy said “Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future."
