There has been a drastic rise in obesity among children under five years in 20 out of the 22 States where a study was conducted, according to the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS) with experts attributing it to lack of physical activity and unhealthy food habits.
According to the NHFS-5, several States and Union Territories, including Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Mizoram, Tripura, Lakshadweep and Ladakh have registered many fold increase in cases of obesity among children below five years of age in comparison to NFHS-4 conducted between 2015 and 2016.
The data reveals that only Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu registered a drop in the number of overweight children under five years of age.
“About 13.4 per cent children under the age of five were found to be obese in Ladakh which was highest among the 22 States and Union Territories surveyed, followed by Lakshadweep at 10.5 per cent, Mizoram 10 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir, and Sikkim 9.6 per cent each,” as per the data.
Not just children, rise in obesity has even been recorded in adults in the latest survey in comparison to NFHS-4.
According to the survey data, 16 States and Union Territories registered a rise in obesity among women while 19 states and UTs recorded an increase in obesity among men.
Kerala and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands recorded the highest percentage of obesity among women at 38 per cent. Also, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep recorded the highest percentage of obesity among women at over 40 per cent.
Men and women were counted as obese whose body mass index was found to be over or equal to 25.0 kg/m2 while children’s obesity was counted in terms of weight-for-height. The present NFHS was conducted on 6.1 lakh sample households, involving household-level interviews to collect information on population, health, family planning and nutrition related indicators.
Doctors have blamed rising obesity on unhealthy food choices and lack of physical activities among children and even adults. Dr RK Dhamija, Professor from Delhi-based Lady Hardinge Medical College said that children are “not eating healthy” and “not getting enough exercise,” leaving them obese.
He warns that obesity is likely to get worse during the Covid-19 pandemic which has restricted kids and elders inside the homes. “Many children are moving less and eating more and that too junk food,” he said adding that this may result into various ailments like diabetes and breathing problems. He suggested adopting health lifestyle including eating health foods and physical activities.
Dr Arun Gupta from Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI) underlined importance of breastfeeding in this regard, pointing out that it prevents babies from getting obese and undernourished. “It is well known babies in India are either undernourished or getting obese in some sections of the population. Breastfeeding provides a double duty action to prevent both these problems,” he said. He cited a WHO study involving 16 countries that says breastfeeding reduces child obesity risk by up to 25 percent.
The NFHS results of 17 States and five Union Territories have been released now as phase-one. The phase-two results covering other States will be released next year, the Union Health Ministry had said.
Monday, 14 December 2020 | PNS | New Delhi
