(16-01-07) Childhood obesity can lead to diabetes

BHUBANESWAR: ?Parents, watchout: your child is heading for disaster?. The refrain is getting louder among physicians, particularly diabetologists, as childhood obesity is beginning to emerge a major public health concern in the country.

Over 15 percent of children in the age group of 15 years are found to be overweight in India, more than the prevalence rate in the West and the developed countries. In the US, obesity in children is lower than 15.8 percent while in the United Kingdom it is 7.3 percent.

In contrast, a study in Chennai urban population has revealed that 17.8 percent of boys are overweight compared to 15.8 percent of girls. Though no organised study has been conducted in Orissa, the rate would match the national average, experts maintained.

Obesity among children has put them at a high risk of contracting diseases like diabetes, heart and blood vessel disorders.

Excess visceral fat or abdominal obesity is more linked to development of metabolic syndrome, which is considered the gateway to diabetes and attendant cardiometabolic disturbances.

?In fact, the fallout is already showing through the increase in early onset of type-2 diabetes, which is associated with adults, among the young ones. At present, around two to three percent of type-2 diabetics in the country constitute the young. But early onset of the disease within the age of 20 is on an alarming rise,? diabetes fellow of Karolinkska Institute, Sweden, and chairman of Cuttack Diabetes Foundation Dr Alok Kanungo said.

The recently published guidelines by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) to diagnose metabolic syndrome has combined central obesity - measured on the parameters of waist circumference in comparison to height, age, sex and body type - with the raised triglyceride, cholesterol, blood pressure and plasma glucose levels.

Sedentary lifestyles with drastically decreased physical activity are making children increasingly susceptible to diabetes and associated problems.

Majority of children are spending their time in front of television sets or computers or indoor games while gorging on fast food and soft drinks with very high fat and energy levels, which are resulting in obesity.

Parents are also responsible for the fallout as their definition of healthy borders on obesity.

?The fetish of parents to overfeed their children or by giving in to their demands for junk food is inviting disaster. They are becoming victims of metabolic syndrome and candidates for the disabling disorders. Thus the role of the parents to provide their children with proper atmosphere and habits is most vital,? Dr Kanungo emphasised

Fonte: NEWINDPRESS.com

News

---

In evidenza

"L'informazione presente nel sito serve a migliorare, e non a sostituire, il rapporto medico-paziente."

Per coloro che hanno problemi di salute si consiglia di consultare sempre il proprio medico curante.