Indian Paradox: 46 per cent children suffer from malnutrition while 30 per cent  are affected by obesity

The World Obesity Day was observed on October 14, 2012. A disturbing fact which came to light on this occassion is that least 46 per cent of Indian children up to the age of three still suffer from malnutrition. This was reported in a study by the British-based Institute of Development Studies (IDS), which incorporated papers by more than 20 India analysts.

Dr Ramen Goel, renowned Bariatric Surgeon and Past President of All India Association for Advancing Research in Obesity said, “Malnutrition amongst children in India is not only related to poverty, even children who can afford two meals a day, eat mostly carbohydrates and transfats. This nutrition ignorance arise out of lack of awareness in their parents, teachers and society at large. In a study done on  women visiting Cama & Albless Hospital by us, we found that over 60 per cent of unmarried girls are not only underweight, they have small muscle mass. While the married girls become overweight but continue to remain physically weak.”

At the same it was also revealed that more than 30 percent of children in India is affected by obesity, making it the most common chronic disease of childhood. Causes associated with childhood obesity include: environment, lack of physical activity, heredity and family, dietary patterns, socioeconomic status etc.  Dr Ramen Goel observed, “We are seeing larger number of children with weight of over 100 kgs visiting our clinic. The irony is that most of these kids have gained weight for no fault of theirs, since they are not decision makers either at family, school or societal levels. Due to economic growth, families are eating rich food and eating more frequently, while calorie dense food is marketed aggressively.”

Thus it was seen that a paradoxical situation exists in India wherein children of the country are battling both malnutrition and obesity.

EH News Bureau