The Hindu : Kerala News : Obesity in children on the rise

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 25, 2006
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Kerala

Kerala

Obesity in children on the rise

Shyama Rajagopal

KOCHI: The number of obese children in the rural-urban belt of Ernakulam has increased by 50 per cent in the last two years.

A study, by the Department of Paediatric Cardiology at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research, found that if the trend continued there was a danger of the obesity epidemic doubling every four years.

The study was done in the 5-16 age group from 2003 to 2005. The district, which gives a good mix of urban and rural lifestyle, could represent the trends in the entire south India, said paediatric cardiologist R. Krishna Kumar, who was the principal investigator.

The increase in obesity was more noted in unaided schools, he said. The project taken up by the medical investigators prepared their observations after surveying a sizeable population of about 25,000 children from a cross section of schools.

Dr. Krishna Kumar said the increase in the proportion of obese children was an alarming tendency. It could be an indicator of a genetic trend, he said. The study showed an evolving epidemic of childhood obesity with significant burden of cardiovascular diseases. He suggested that prompt preventive strategies were required to overcome this epidemic and its consequences.

A high percentage of obese and overweight children were seen to have hypertension. The study also indicated that girls were at a higher risk of developing hypertension due to obesity and overweight compared to boys. However, the number of obese and overweight girls was less than the number of boys.

The data was collected from a representative sample of 46 schools with 25,228 children, chosen randomly. Height, weight and blood pressure were noted during 2003-'04 in 24,842 children and similar data was collected from 20,263 students in 2004-'05.

In 2003-04, the data showed that 4.94 per cent of the total number of students were overweight while 1.26 per cent were obese. The data collected in 2004-05 showed that 6.57 per cent of the total students were overweight and 1.89 per cent obese.

Children with body mass index (BMI) of more than 25 and 30 respectively were classified as overweight and obese. BMI was the ratio between weight in kilograms and the square of height in metres.

Research paediatrician Manu Raj said a number of important points regarding obesity and control measures were mentioned at childhood_obesity@googlegroups.com for a layperson to understand the problem.

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