People & Their Problems

New Delhi, 8 August 2008

What Price Obesity?

Diabetes hit children

By Radhakrishna Rao

Globalization and consumerism, widely perceived to be key factors behind the radical shift in lifestyle in many developing countries, have also contributed in a big way to   the rapid spread of obesity in the Third World countries including India. Obesity, which was not long back a problem confined to the affluent, industrialized countries of the north, today could lead to a health catastrophe in the country if not treated on time .

Diseases in the form of diabetes, heart and arterial diseases and other ailments are already on an explosive upsurge. In addition to the unregulated consumption of high calorie food such as vegetable oils, dairy products and animal source food, lack of exercise and a sedentary lifestyle have contributed to the incidence of obesity in the country. Besides, hunger and malnutrition.

According to a top nutritionist, “People are not only converting to the unhealthy Western diet, but they are also starting to work, travel and entertain themselves in the Western ways that worsen the effect of the diet they consume.” He also drives home the point that as a sedentary lifestyle puts less demand on one’s energy requirements, excess calorie accumulates as fat in the human body which leads to obesity.

 In the Indian context, a massive consumption of trans-fats found in hydrogenated oils as well as the growing popularity of poultry and animal source food, have been found to be one of the major causative factors for the curse of obesity. 

Many Western countries worried over the unpleasant fallout of health related problems stemming from obesity, have taken many proactive steps to help their citizens reduce obesity and contribute to the national productivity. Pertinently, we too need to take urgent action at the highest level to change our unhealthy lifestyle habits by improving our diet, increasing physical activity and making the environment supportive of these objectives.

For instance,  in the US obesity is known to cost American companies an estimated US $45-billion a year in medical expenses and  work loss. Not surprisingly then, nearly half of the American companies have   their own in-house obesity reduction programmes. In fact, obesity is associated with a 36% increase in health-care spending, more than smoking or the problem of alcoholism.

Unfortunately, neither the Indian Government nor the corporate sector have thought of addressing the problem of obesity in a serious, time bound manner. A survey of school-going children carried out recently by the New Delhi based All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has come to the conclusion that children from elite schools have a tendency to stay obese and overweight, thus making them susceptible to diabetes usually common among the adults.

“This is for the first time that such a big group of children was studied. The data from public schools was frightening. About 22-24% of them were obese and overweight. These children are eating junk food and their life is stressful. There is a risk that these obese children could develop various metabolic abnormalities”, warned AIIMS endocrinologist Dr. Nikhil Tandon.

Additionally, in many cases, parents have been found to be responsible for making their children obese by blindly treating them to calorie rich food. Worse, these parents do not encourage any physical activity among the children. Watching TV, surfing the net and consuming junk food along with the pressure of home work makes for a perfect prescription to turn school-going children obese. Observed a pediatric endocrinologist with Bangalore’s Manipal Hospital, “parents seems to be underestimating the health risk of their children’s excess weight.”

 Regular physical exercise, walking and jogging along with an intake of a balanced diet with a preponderance of green vegetables and fruits are being recommended to reduce obesity and stay fit. Of course, hereditary factors (to a limited extent) play a role in obesity. But as pointed out by a child specialist, “A child does not have to become fat just because his/her parent is. If care is taken from the beginning, the gene may not even express itself.”

By all counts, obesity is on the rise among the middle class population in the Indian cities. “Most of the adults, who are obese now, were not so during their childhood. They obtained their extra pounds after they attained 25 years .But now we have more and more people, who are already obese in the age of 15-20 years,” says an article in Cracker, a magazine published by the International Nut Council.

Abdominal obesity and expanding waistline among 35-plus women in urban areas of India is a mater of concern. “Obesity, particularly abdominal obesity increases the risk of all cancers including  breast cancer by as much as 40%,” observed the Director of Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital.

Added, a New Delhi radiologist, “excess fat deposits in a woman’s body could result in gall stones, menstrual irregularity, osteoporosis and interruption in the sleeping patterns .Not only that. Sedentary lifestyles was to blame for increasing obesity among urban women. On the other hand, women in rural areas do a lot of manual chores, because of the absence of gadgets. Washing clothes, scrubbing floors, lighting the fire, carrying water — these are all strenuous exercises that burn the excess calories.

Interestingly, a recent article in the International Journal of Obesity pointed out that as the per capita income rises, the burden of obesity shifts from the relatively well-off to the poor. The study in particular observed that in Asia’s (India included) fast growing urban centres, expanded economic opportunities translated into expanded opportunities to gain weight! ----- INFA

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