Children eating more junk food since pandemic began, gaining weight fast

VAIBHAV PARWAT

Aurangabad, July 20:

Almost 45-50 per cent of young children in the city have been comfort-eating through the covid crisis, and increasingly stressed-out parents are struggling to wean them off the fast food and treats, according to doctors and health experts. On the National Junk Food day, experts have opined that children have been eating unhealthy food and eating in excess since the start of the pandemic with a diet mainly consisting of aerated drinks and fatty food.

With schools shut, restrictions on playgrounds and hours spent in front of screens, children are gaining weight, which, according to experts, is a worrying trend and could contribute to covid complications in kids. Confined to their homes amid the pandemic, children are facing a higher risk of obesity due to increased intake of junk food, lack of socialization and physical activities. "Corona has possibly worsened the situation of overweight in middle aged children since the tendency for home confined young and school aged children and adolescents to indulge in frequent munching or consumption of high calorie and empty nutrient value snacks such as namkeen, biscuits, bread, buns, noodles, ice creams, cookies and cakes, fried snacks, sweetened beverages has increased. These items are rich in carbohydrate, sugar and fat and are sought routinely and consumed on a daily basis," said nutritionist Dr Sheila Nage. There are cases where parents are seeking diet plans for children in the age group of 5-7 years. With parents working from home and increased stress, less attention is being paid to what children are eating and not at how much they are eating, she added.

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No dietary diversity

Lack of dietary diversity is one of the reasons for rising obesity, overweight children and high under nutrition. The change in diets and consumption of high carbohydrate and high sugar foods like pizza, burger, pasta and cheese have an impact on health of the children. Consumption of foods like chapati, bhakri, soups, lentils, rice and bean sprouts can save children from being overweight.

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Four pillars to stay fit

There are four pillars- regular exercise, eating healthy, reducing screen time and no emotional feeding. There are a lot of indoor exercises that kids could do at home to keep themselves fit. Parents must avoid excess feeding their kids to keep them away from overeating, said Nage.

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Lockdown had a negative impact

Paediatric Dr Madhu Patil said that the lockdown has negatively impacted sleep, eating habits and physical activity among children. In fact, doctors are getting children as young as four years old who are gaining weight due to the sedentary lifestyle. In children, obesity can lead to a metabolic syndrome that is a cluster of conditions that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes, which can be a serious problem in adolescence. In fact, study has shown that obese children are more venerable to covid.