Obesity among School Going Children:Diet and Related Factors

Abstract

Overweight and obesity are among the most prevalent nutritional problems in developed and developing countries. The problem of obesity is confined not only to adults but also to children and adolescents. Overweight in children/adolescents is caused by lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns, or a combination of both with genetics and lifestyle playing important roles in determining a child's weight. In India, approximately 19 per cent of the growing population comprises school-aged children of whom 30 per cent currently reside in urban India. The prevalence figures for overweight (8.5-29.0%) and obesity (1.5-7.4%) in Indian children are comparable with that for Western nations, 7.9 to 25.4 per cent for over weight and 0,9 to 7.9 per cent for obesity, indicating the emergence of the double burden of malnutrition in the young population of India.