Tackling obesity in children

More than 30% people of the society including children have potbelly abdominal obesity.  India reportedly witnesses 10 million cases of childhood obesity annually.

New Delhi, March 23 , 2017:  India is seeing a pandemic of metabolic disorder, which is described by stomach weight, high triglyceride, low great cholesterol, hypertension and high sugar. Stomach circumference of more than 90 cm in men and 80 cm in ladies demonstrates that the individual is defenseless against future heart assault. Typical weight heftiness is the new scourge. A man could be corpulent regardless of the possibility that his body weight was inside the typical range. Youngsters with BMI equivalent to or surpassing the age-sex particular 95th percentile are characterized hefty. An additional inch of fat around the guts builds the odds of coronary illness by 1.5 circumstances.

Padma Shri Awardee Dr K K Aggarwal, National President, Indian Medical Association (IMA) and President Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) and Dr RN Tandon – Honorary Secretary General IMA in a joint statement said that, “Normally once the height stops growing, most of the organs will also stop growing. The weight of the heart, liver of kidney cannot increase after that. Only muscles can build up to some extent. The only thing, after that stage, which can increase the weight of the body, is deposition of fat. Therefore any weight gain after puberty is invariably due to fat. Though the overall weight can be in the acceptable normal range but any weight gain within that range will be abnormal for that person. One should not gain weight of more than 5 kg after the age of 20 years in males and 18 years in females. After the age of 50, the weight should reduce and not increase.”

“Potbelly obesity is linked to eating refined carbohydrates and not animal fats. General obesity is linked to eating animal fats. Refined carbohydrate includes white rice, white maida and white sugar. Brown sugar is better than white sugar. Refined carbohydrates are called bad carbohydrates and animal fat is called bad fat. Trans fat or vanaspati is bad for health. It increases the levels of bad cholesterol and reduces good cholesterol in the body. Reduction in weight can reduce snoring, pain of arthritis, blood pressure and control uncontrolled diabetes”, add Dr K K Aggarwal.

Childhood Obesity can further lead to diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. 70 percent of obese youth had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Children and adolescents who are obese are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as social stigma and poor self-esteem.

Following are some key points for tackling obesity in children:

1. Skip carbohydrates once in a week.
2. Combine a sweet food with bitter food (prefer aloomethi over aloomatar).
3. Walk, walk and walk…
4. Consume green bitter items in foods such as karela, methi, palak, bhindi etc.
5. Do not eat trans fats (vanaspati).
6. Do not consume more than 80 ml of soft drink in a day.
7. Do not consume sweets with more than 30% sugar.
8. Avoid maida, rice and white sugar.