Generation XL- Tackling and Preventing Childhood Obesity in India

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

If a list of the most commonly used words is compiled under the spectrum of health and wellness, weight would definitely figure prominently on it. Almost everyone, irrespective of their gender or age, frets about the calories they consume or the inches they could add to their waistline with a single meal. And, if not about their own weight, there is always the worry of a parent, spouse or child gaining kilograms they shouldn't. It wouldn't be wrong to say that weight is perhaps one of the most stress-inducing words of our times.

Unfortunately, most people obsess about their weight for cosmetic reasons. In Indian society, parents fear that their daughter won't get that coveted alliance if she is overweight. Many youngsters believe being successful and being overweight are mutually exclusive. They ignore the fact that some of the world's highest earning entertainers, such as Oprah Winfrey, have struggled with those extra kilos.

It's important to get scientific about weight and its associated problems. Modern medicine has-in the last few decades-proved beyond a doubt that weight is not inversely proportional to looks but to overall. Health. There is enough research to indicate that being overweight or obese is akin to issuing an open invitation to ill-health. It is a risk factor for diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, stroke, coronary artery diseases and cancer, among many others. As a bariatric surgeon who has counselled and treated a spectrum of patients with weight issues including people from varying socio-economic groups over the last two decades, I have noticed an emerging dimension in the obesity problem. Children today weigh more than those from the previous generations. A cursory look at the playgrounds of most schools in urban areas would reveal children looking a tad bit heavier than they should be for their age. Research has shown how students in the 13-16 age group from suburban Mumbai took nearly 2000 steps less than their counterparts in the UK.

In terms of weight, it would be apt to label today's children and youth as Generation XL. The wiry frame that one associated with Indian children until a few decades has made way for an overgrown, size XL- wearing teenager.

**Contents and Sample Pages**