Obesity is spreading worldwide like an epidemic. So what? Why should anyone be so concerned about obesity "epidemic"?
It is a fact that obesity causes diseases and eventually deaths on a large scale. Are you surprised? Shocked? If you are, half the purpose of this article is fulfilled. Awareness of a problem is half the solution, isn't it?
Yes, rising incidence of obesity is thought to be a significant factor for bringing down life expectancy in the affluent countries today; its overall impact on health is comparable to that of smoking. And less developed countries are catching up fast in this field.
How does obesity influence health and disease?
Obesity makes one prone to or aggravates a variety of chronic (i.e. long- lingering) illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, lung diseases and bone and joint problems. This list is not complete. It can shorten life span and even contribute to the development of some forms of cancer. A pretty depressing scenario, isn't it?
Okay. These are diseases affecting the grown-ups, so why are you bothering children with all these depressing information?
Well, obesity and all the related diseases have their foundation laid in childhood. Childhood obesity tends to stay with you, often grows with you, into adulthood and beyond, until it silently nudges you into the grave.
Enough of the scare-mongering.. Give us some hope. Aren't there any solutions?
There are solutions. And they constitute the remaining half of the purpose of this article. But be reminded. There are no shortcuts! No magic pills. No special diets - not suitable for children anyway. The key words are life style changes, consistency and community involvement.
But first the basics: Obesity is body weight, particularly body fat, in excess of the norm for one's age, sex and height. It results from an imbalance between supply and demand, input and expenditure, of (food) energy. When you take in more energy than your body spends on growth, repair and physical work (including daily chores, play and exercise), the positive balance, the excess energy, is stored in the body as fat. And it is the stored fat, not the muscle or bone mass that plays the havoc.
So what do we do?
Step 1: Increase the expenditure i.e. exercise
Say goodbye to sedentary (shall we call it lazy) habits.
Keeping obesity under control is a life long process, and should start very early. It is common everywhere nowadays to see even toddlers being pushed around in prams and push chairs. (That is if ever they get an opportunity to get out of the house or the car). They are being denied the opportunity of enjoying and be enriched by the many - faceted sensory inputs associated with running around. In the process, the chance to burn a few calories of energy is lost. And we are laying the seeds of obesity here.
Inside the house the ever present television and computer games get children (and grown- ups) glued to them with minimal opportunity for physical activity. Television viewing also encourages binge eating while kids are bombarded with advertisements of obesity - enhancing junk food. Its influence on obesity is varied and vast indeed. Lesson: restrict TV viewing (to perhaps an hour a day on weekdays and a little longer during weekends).
Encourage energy expenditure by progressive physical activity. Incorporate some habits into your life's pattern rather than depend on bouts of activity which are well laid out, but practised intermittently or liable to be postponed indefinitely. In general, push the children out into the courtyard, into the playground or on to the bicycle and so on. If you can climb (stairs) don't use lifts, if you can run don't walk, if you can walk don't stand, if you can stand don't sit, if you can sit don't lie down etc.
But while many of these may appear to be matters of individual or family decision and determination, others need the thoughtful action of the community and society. Can you let your toddler accompany you on foot on an evening stroll if roads are not paved or shopping areas are not pedestrianised? What about bicycle lanes on the road? Can children go out to play if there are no suitable compounds/ grounds?
Step 2: Decrease the (food energy) input (intake) i.e. eat wisely
Here again, to be effective we have to catch them young, literally starting from the cradle, to postpone (the approach to) the grave. Exclusive breast feeding till six months of age has been shown to reduce obesity (in the mother as well as in the baby). Conversely, bottle-feeding may encourage it.
The type of food we eat and the type of eating habits we pick up from early on is of crucial importance. Everyone nowadays seems to know the value of eating a lot of vegetables and fruits. They know that energy - rich foods like oils and fats, sugars and sugary foods, refined and canned foods, cookies, biscuits and the like, and fizzy drinks should be cut down. But the wedge between knowledge and practice is alarmingly wide.
Whose responsibility is it to bridge the wedge? Who should be involved and targeted? Is it the individual child or adult? The housewife who should steer the shopping trolley away from the processed and ready-to-eat food section to isles between stacks of (healthy) raw food? Is it the amah (maid) who may be cooking the food using her own (unhealthy) recipes? The uncles, aunts and grandparents; who often out of a mistaken sense of love and caring, feed their loved ones additional junk food? Is it he supermarkets and restaurants including school cafeterias which serve trendy, tasty foods which may be nevertheless helping obesity? The health professionals who spend their scarce time on detecting and treating diseases while finding little time and inclination to look for and offer preventive counselling against advancing over-weightedness? Whose responsibility is it to prevent obesity in the individual and its epidemic in the community?
Who is responsible for preventing obesity (and promoting a generally healthy life-style) in a society?
The answer is obvious. In the ongoing war against an expanding waistline (and the havoc it plays on people's health) every one of us is a soldier on active duty. Students, children, who are moulded by as well as mould the society, certainly occupy the front line. And you and I have to act today. For, when it comes to obesity, prevention is the only real option; reversal by treatment is so frustratingly difficult. And it should start from infancy and continue as a life- long habit of regular physical activity and moderate food intake.
- Ministry of Health Public Awareness Programme
Source: Weekend 10 Jan 2009
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