Obesity among children peaks in India

Due to unbridled access to junk food, childhood obesity among children has now become a major challenge for parents, public health specialists and policy experts.

Hyderabad: For a long time, public health specialists have focused on malnutrition among children. However, it turns out that in modern times, children in urban as well as rural India have unchecked and unregulated access to fast food and ultra-processed food items.

Due to unbridled access to junk food, childhood obesity among children has now become a major challenge for parents, public health specialists and policy experts.

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In 2022, nearly 1.25 crore children in India (5 to 19 years) were overweight while in 1990, it was 4 lakh. Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) in 2016-18 indicated that 2.1 percent of children (5 to 9 years) and 2.4 percent adolescents (10-19 years) are already obese and 8.5 percent of children and 6.2 percent of adolescents were overweight.

About a year ago, Hyderabad-based Asian Institute of Gastroenterology (AIG), conducted an outreach program, which indicated that children are increasingly consuming fast food and ultra-processed food items. This alarming trend is not just confined to urban cities, even children in rural areas have free access to ultra-processed food items.

“The habit of consuming fast food, especially in children, causes a number of health issues, including inflammation and an increased risk of developing insulin resistance due to elevated Body Mass Index (BMI). Insulin resistance at a young age sets the stage for a lifetime of metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” says Dr Nageshwar Reddy, founder AIG Hospitals.

Adults in TS:

In addition to children, the prevalence of obesity among adults in Telangana has also reached alarming levels, recent population-based study by researchers from Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) indicated.

The study reported that 47.7 percent of people in Telangana and 46.7 percent of people in AP were obese, which is a clear indication of the heavy burden of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, hypertension etc, among general population.

PM’s Mann ki Baat to address obesity 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign to address obesity during Mann Ki Baat has attracted support from celebrities, influencers, public health specialists, eminent personalities, doctors, sports persons and from all walks of life.

On multiple social media outlets, especially X (formerly Twitter), physicians have attempted to engage with youth, in order to address childhood obesity.

While celebrities and influencers are tagging each other to take the message of fighting obesity forward, physicians on their part have started holding awareness meetings and utilizing their own reach on social media to talk about obesity.

Noted physicians including Dr Nageshwar Reddy from AIG, senior management of Apollo Hospitals, Dr Devi Shetty from Karnataka, and many more are frequently touching upon the issue of obesity.