As the time is changing, we are progressing really fast from one era to another, hand in hand with the developing technology. But the question that arises with it is – Is it helping children learn or is it making them confined to a place for simple pleasure (includes, internet, video games, etc.)? These things have confined the child within the proximity of house, reducing the physical activity in terms of outdoor games, and ultimately leading to child obesity.
Childhood is a period of growth at a slower rate in comparison to infancy. It is a vulnerable group as important physiological and psychological changes take place. In India and especially in metros, the recent trend has shown drastic increase in the prevalence of child obesity. It has become a major concern as it predisposes children not only to psychological problems but also mechanical disabilities, renal, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases during adulthood and reduces quality of life. The first reason behind the increasing weight in children is the reduction in physical activity as listed above and secondly and most importantly is the increasing consumption of junk foods. These days eating out is becoming a trend, with this even children has stopped carrying lunches and enjoy eating at their school canteens, which again is all junk and no nutrition. Thus, food containing high amount of fat has lead to increase in obesity cases.
The few questions that frequently arises are – How can it be successfully dealt with? How can we provide tasty, handy yet nutritious food to children?
To this recently Nirulas has come up with a very good answer – they have introduced low calorie, whole wheat – Nutribyte Burgers. These not only include good amount of protein and carbohydrates but have less of fat in it as well. Vegetables have even been included in the Burgers like – spinach, onion, carrots, etc., which again add to the necessary vitamins required for the vital functions of the body. Thus, this way junk food can even be converted to a healthy food. But this can happen only when the section who deals with these stuffs are made more aware about it.
Similar efforts can even be made in school canteens with the help of school authorities and nutritionist together. Counselors should be kept to educate parents in terms of health and nutrition as well. These are the few measures which if taken timely can help reduce the incidence to a great extent. In our future posts, we will discuss more about instilling healthy eating habits in kids and options of delicious and yet healthy food. You can stay informed about our future posts on this topic by joining us on facebook / rediff / email.