Mumbai: Even as data from the recently updated National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) point to rising obesity levels in India, the experience of a Mumbai hospital highlights the growing concern among children and teenagers.
Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children in Parel has recorded nearly 300 cases of childhood obesity over the past three years, averaging around 100 new cases a year. The hospital’s paediatric endocrinology department has seen nearly 300 children and adolescents with obesity in three years. More than 80% of these cases were associated with lifestyle factors, without an identifiable hormonal or genetic cause, she said. Obesity can lead to insulin resistance, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, fatty liver disease, sleep apnoea and joint problems.
Parents usually assume that excess weight in a child is due to a hormonal problem.
“This growing problem is clearly visible in our clinical practice,” said Dr Sudha Rao, medical director and paediatric endocrinologist at Wadia Hospital. “Most childhood obesity is not caused by an endocrine disorder,” Rao said. The hospital operates under a joint-venture funding and trust agreement with the state govt and the BMC, and caters to a mixed population including lower- and middle-income groups. In adolescent girls, excess weight and insulin resistance may also contribute to irregular or absent periods and features of polycystic ovary syndrome.