New Delhi: A senior lawyer recently brought his 13-year-old son to a hospital with a complaint that the boy obtained more than 12kg in the past 12 months.
The previous year, he only wore 4.5 kg.
When the doctors examined it, they found that excessive weight gain was not caused by the underlying disease, but a bad lifestyle, such as reduced physical activity and increased consumption of junk food.
However, this 13-year-old child is not alone.
Pandemic Covid-19 triggered a sharp increase in obesity, especially among children.
Nikita Verma (name changed), who lives in Vasant Vihar, said his friends recently organized the Playdate for children.
“I was worried about seeing how all children got extraordinary weight in the past half a year.
Observing the same problem in my two children, we hired a fitness trainer who took children to the park every day in the morning and made them Do exercises for one hour, “he added.
Dr.
Anupam Sibal, Gastroenterology of the Child and Medical Director of the Group at the Apollo Hospital, said excessive weight gain was quite common among children because most of them were at home.
“All schools are closed and classes are detained online, which have disrupted the routine of normal children.
There is no time to eat and physical activity is almost zero.
All of this triggered an increase in obesity,” he added.
“It is very important that parents realize that, more than before, a balanced diet and regular exercise are very important for the welfare of children.
Parents must lead by giving examples,” said Sibal.
The World Health Organization said the obesity of childhood was associated with the possibility of higher obesity, premature death and disability in adulthood.
In addition to increasing risk in the future, fat children have difficulty breathing, increased risk of fracture, hypertension, the initial marker of cardiovascular disease, psychological resistance and psychological effects.
Dr.
Shanu Srivastava, a senior psychologist at the Indian spinal injury center, said obesity could lead to interference such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and difficulty sleeping in children.
“Fat children are afraid of socializing as a result of being disturbed.
They always feel judged and begin to avoid social meetings.
I have a patient whose grandparents are used to tease him because he is fat.
He developed eating abnormalities and his appearance in the study also declined,” he added.
Many public health specialists recommend continuing school gradually to ensure appropriate education and overall improvement in children’s mental and physical health.
In India, there are several studies to assess the impact of locking on children’s obesity.
However, a study was conducted in 41 children who were overweight under matters throughout March and April last year in Verona, Italy showed restrictions on negative impact on their diet, sleep and their physical activity.
Compared to the behavior recorded a year earlier, children eat additional food per day, sleeping half an extra hour, adding almost five hours every day in front of the phone, computer and television, and dramatically increasing consumption of red meat, sweet and dramatic drinks and food fastfood.
Physical activity, on the other hand, decreases more than two hours per week.
“The school environment provides structures and routines around meals, physical activity, and sleep – three dominant lifestyle factors involved in the risk of obesity,” Myles Faith, the obesity experts of childhood and colleagues of the study were quoted in a report published In Science Daily.