Childhood obesity a growing scare

The current status of obesity and overweight, particularly among children, in our country, is getting alarming. If children are the future leaders, then something drastic needs to be done to reverse the trend. 

According to health experts, childhood obesity is a serious medical condition that affects children and adolescents. It is particularly troubling because the extra pounds that children gain often start them on the path to health problems that were once considered adult problems, such as higher risks of premature death and disability in adulthood, increased risk of fractures, increased future risks of breathing difficulties, heart disease, hepatic impairment, diabetes, insulin resistance, vision problems, cancer and psychological consequences such as low self-esteem.

Obesity affects both children and adults, but in children, childhood obesity is considered a complex health issue. It occurs when a child is well above the normal or healthy weight for his or her age and height.

The causes of excess weight gain in young people are similar to those in adults, including behaviour and genetics.

Obesity is generally caused by eating too much and moving too little. If one consumes high amounts of energy, particularly fat and sugars, but does not burn off the energy through exercise and physical activity, much of the surplus energy will be stored by the body as fat.

Nearly half of overweight or obese children under-five are in Asia, while one quarter live in Africa, where the number of overweight or obese children has nearly doubled from 5.4 million to 10.6 million in 1990 and 2016, respectively.

Globally, obesity prevalence is said to have nearly tripled since the 1970s, as about 1.9 billion adults 18 years and above were overweight in 2016, out of which 650 million were obese. In the same year, 41 million children under age five were overweight or obese.

Among children and adolescents aged five to 19, over 340 million were overweight or obese in 2016. Evidence further suggests that low-income countries harbour majority of obese people.

Poor diet is said to cause a child to develop high cholesterol and high blood pressure. These factors can contribute to the build up of plaques in the arteries, which can cause arteries to narrow and harden, possibly leading to a heart attack or stroke later in life.

Obesity also causes the child to have joint pains, as the extra weight causes extra stress on hips and knees. Childhood obesity can cause pain and sometimes injuries in the hips, knees and back.

Another condition that obesity can cause in children is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This disorder usually causes no symptoms but causes fatty deposits to build up in the liver and can lead to scarring and liver damage.

Children who have obesity may experience social and emotional complications such as teasing or bullying by their peers. This can result in loss of self-esteem and an increased risk of depression and anxiety.

Our view is that the issue of childhood obesity must be nipped in the bud before it escalates into a crisis in the country.

The Daily Graphic believes that the best strategy to reduce childhood obesity is to improve the eating and exercise habits of the family, since treating and preventing childhood obesity helps protect the child's health now and in the future.

The paper is concerned that today’s children, due to technology, are more involved in indoor games, such as playing on the computer or watching cartoons on television, instead of going out to engage their peers in games such as ‘pilolo’, hide and seek, ‘ampe’, ‘gutter to gutter’, bicycle riding, ‘chaskele’, among others which were enjoyed in the 70s, 80s and 90s before the onset of the millennium which ushered in the computer age.

We call on policy makers to deal with the issue as a matter of urgency before it becomes a national crisis which will require the use of unavailable resources to create public awareness and education.