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The World Health Organization (WHO) has released very scary and shocking figures regarding the health of children around the world. Globally, approximately 17 crore children and adolescents are now trapped in the grave trap of childhood obesity. This disorder, once considered a problem of rich or developed countries, is now rapidly spreading among middle-class and lower-middle-class families of developing countries like India. According to the latest global report of the World Health Organization, if comprehensive improvements in eating habits and lifestyle are not made in time, then by the year 2030, about 25 crore children around the world will suffer from overweight and obesity. Earlier, diseases like type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, fatty liver, sleep apnea and depression, which used to occur at the age of 40 or 50, are now becoming common among school children aged 10 to 15 years. In view of this dire situation, WHO has issued a comprehensive prevention guideline for all countries, schools and parents, in which the complete scientific formula to protect children from this ‘silent killer’ has been shared.
The WHO report cites two main reasons behind the rapid weight gain of children as the most fatal ones—easy access to ultra-processed junk food and being glued to mobile-TV screens for hours. Nowadays, traditional nutritious food, green vegetables, fruits and whole grains have disappeared from the diet of children and have been replaced by chips, packaged noodles, burgers, pizza, soft drinks and sugar-laden breakfast cereals. Added sugar, trans fat and excessive salt hidden in these food items completely destroys the metabolism of children in childhood itself. Additionally, running around in fields and outdoor games have now been replaced by mobile gaming, online videos and social media reels. According to the report, more than 80 percent of teenagers are not able to complete the required physical activity throughout the day. Due to this sedentary lifestyle and the imbalance of heavy calorie consumption, fat is accumulating rapidly in the body of children, which is later laying the basis for heart attacks and serious joint disorders.
The World Health Organization has set a scientific and practical guideline to protect children from obesity and their safe future, which every family and educational institution has been strictly instructed to include in their daily routine:
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The magical health rule of ‘5-2-1-0’: Include at least 5 servings of fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables every day in children’s daily routine; Limit screen time (TV/mobile) to a maximum of 2 hours; Make at least 1 hour of sweaty outdoor sports or exercise mandatory every day; And bring down canned sweetened beverages (cold drinks, packaged juices) to zero (0).
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Ban on sugar and packaged snacks: Do not give any kind of added sugar to children under 2 years of age. For children above 2 years of age, the amount of free sugar should not exceed 5 to 10 percent of the total calories for the day. A complete ban on the sale of cold drinks and ultra-processed food in school canteens has been recommended.
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Complete sleep cycle: 9 to 11 hours of uninterrupted sleep is very important for children aged 5 to 12 years. Due to lack of sleep, ‘ghrelin’ (hormone that increases hunger) increases in the body of children and ‘leptin’ (hormone that increases satisfaction) decreases, due to which children start eating more than necessary.
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Front-of-pack warning labels on packaging: WHO has called on governments of all member countries to print clear ‘high sugar, high fat and high salt’ warnings in large print on the front of junk food packets so that parents can make informed decisions at the time of purchase.
This report is even more frightening in the context of India. According to data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), the percentage of overweight children in India has almost doubled in the last decade. This crisis is most acute in densely populated urban areas like the national capital Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow, Kanpur, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Patna. Doctors at Lucknow’s KGMU Pediatrics Department, PGI and Delhi AIIMS say that every fourth child coming to their OPD is suffering from early symptoms of insulin resistance, fatty liver or hypertension. Due to lack of playgrounds in metropolitan cities, apartment culture and increasing mental stress of studies in schools, children have become completely cut off from sports. Doctors have a clear warning that if parents do not stop sending packaged food in children’s tiffin and do not send them to play in the field daily, then the coming generation will become victims of serious cardiovascular diseases at the age of 30.
WHO has clarified that childhood obesity cannot be seen solely as an individual or parental failure, it is a major public health crisis. To solve this, governments will have to impose heavy ‘Sin Tax’ on unhealthy packaged food and sugary drinks on the lines of cigarettes and tobacco. Apart from this, there will have to be a strict legal ban on junk food advertisements on children’s cartoon channels and prime time TV. Schools will have to add a mandatory sports period of at least 45 minutes and nutrition education in their curriculum. Unless homes, schools and government policies come together and take steps in this direction, it will be impossible to free crores of innocent children from the clutches of this deadly disease.