National   

Seed of obesity sown in childhood

By Gargi Parsai

NEW DELHI, AUG. 8. A South Asian Media workshop here on Food Safety and Pesticide Contamination has brought out rather scary details of the effects of obesity — heart attack, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease — much of which is caused by the kind of foods and beverages people consume.

The message is: avoid high calorie and carbohydrate-rich food, including junk foods and beverages, right from childhood, because the seed of obesity in adults is sown in early childhood.

The oft-repeated medical advice may sound staid, but studies conducted by doctors of the All-India Medical Institute (AIIMS), have shown that obesity, if not checked in early childhood, leads to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, gall stone disease and reproductive disorders.

The doctors include Umesh Kapil, Professor of Public Health Nutrition, Anoop Misra, Professor of Internal Medicine and Nikhil Tandon, Additional Professor in the Department of Endocrinology.

Increase in fat

Studies show that increase in fat in chest and abdomen is an important determinant of the onset of diabetes. In children, diabetes can be predicted by abdominal obesity and family history. Children who have a family history of obesity are 68 times at a higher risk for diabetes.

The doctors were clear in their message: catch them young. According to them, increase in body weight, caloric dense food, consumption of processed foods, limited physical activity and sedentary lifestyle are contributory factors for the diseases.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

• Cleanse administration of RSS supporters: Arjun Singh
• Government should talk with Manipur agitators: Bardhan
• BJP reconstitutes party cells
• High-profile MPs in key panels
• We must be patient: Natwar Singh
• Sweet news for one, sadness for another
• Fake stamp paper scam probe at `crucial stage'
• Militant outfit calls for 72-hour bandh in 2 Assam districts
• Seed of obesity sown in childhood
• AAI asked to compensate for escalator death
• Mufti's 'invest appeal' gets good response
• IEDs damage power transmission towers
• AITUC wants rethink on EPF interest rate
• PC sales to touch 8 million by 2008
• We are ready to appeal, say Amitabh, Asha Parekh

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu