Childhood Obesity in India: How to Prevent your Child from Becoming a Victim

July 22, 2020

Childhood obesity has emerged as an epidemic condition and there seems to have no control over it. In the year 2000, a report given by International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) showed that about 10 percent of children in India aged between 5 and 17 were overweight (nearly 155 million), out of which 3 percent were obese (30-45 million).

India has recorded the second most number of obese children in the world while china being at first. Keeping in mind the current COVID-19 scenario that has forced children to sit at home and indulge in all sorts of junk food, becoming lethargic and spending most of their time in front of screens—obesity has become a giant monster.

The government of India (GOI) had set targets in recent years to halt the prevalence of diabetes and obesity by 2025.

Among the reasons for Childhood Obesity are increased intake of – fast food, processed food, and all the fatty foods that don’t offer any nutritional value to your children. To add to this, the replacement of outdoor activities by digital screens in the time of corona is a big contributor to obesity in children nowadays.

Prevention of childhood obesity-

Before your child becomes a victim of childhood obesity, start taking preventive measures. Here are some of the tips and recommendations that might help you-

• A daily walk or bicycle routine instead of letting them slouching the whole day.
• Promoting a healthy lifestyle.
• Limiting the screen time of children.
• Encouraging a healthy diet and nutrition.
• Preparing your child’s meals in advance.
• Don’t let them binge eat.
• Some sort of physical activity daily.
• Teach your children the benefits of exercise, yoga, and nutrition.
• Make them aware of childhood obesity.
• Restricting the availability of junk foods at home.

Obesity has to be controlled, and the Indian government should proactively ban some of the most harmful fast foods that promote obesity. Parents should also have to educate their children about a healthy diet and nutrition to tackle this serious issue.

Prevention, as well as timely treatment of overweight and obesity in childhood, is necessary as these children are likely to become obese adults later on. Check the BMI of your children and ask the experts for an effective weightloss method. Call for a consultation on- 6232012342