40pc of Pakistani children suffer from obesity

Karachi: According to the latest research and health experts, a huge 40% of Pakistani children are either overweight or obese, mainly due to sedentary lifestyles, excessive screening time, and an unhealthy diet. ..

According to the latest survey conducted by the State-run Pakistan Health Commission (PHC) in 2018, more than 11% of children in the country were overweight and more than 5% were obese.

However, some hospital-based studies and surveys have drawn more glittering pictures with the finding that 40-50% of children in the country are overweight or obese.

Talk to Anadolu Agency In connection with World Obesity Day, Dr. Musarat Rias of the Karachi Diabetes Endocrinology Institute at Bakai Medical University questioned PHC statistics and called them “underestimated.”

Rias, who is part of such a hospital-based clinical study on obesity, said the actual numbers range from 40 percent to 50 percent.

“These studies have shown really amazing numbers,” she said, warning that the number of obese or overweight children is growing rapidly.

Increasing childhood obesity causes many illnesses and health complications, she said, and if current lifestyle trends continue, the number of children with obesity problems could increase in the coming years. I’m afraid that there is.

“Apart from many harmonization problems with high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, and obesity, a significant number of adolescents between the ages of 20 and 25 develop early-stage diabetes,” she added.

Brig prediction

According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), Pakistanis suffer from the third highest prevalence of diabetes in the world, with one in four adults living in this condition.

Abdul Basit, a member of Pakistan’s IDF Atlas Commission, warned that “things could get worse” over the next five years if Pakistanis continue their current lifestyle.

Citing a recent study by the official research institute, the Pakistan Health Research Council (PHRC), he said that almost 60 percent of people are obese.

A national survey used two cutoffs, global and Asian.

According to World Health Organization figures, 58.1% of Pakistanis are overweight and 43.9% are obese.

However, according to an Asian cutoff that is not yet globally recognized, 72.3% of Pakistanis are overweight and obesity affects 58.1% of the population.

The idea behind the Asian cutoff, supported by various medical institutions, including IDF, is that Asians have a lower body mass index (BMI), but due to lifestyle differences, they are more than Europeans and Americans. It also means that there is a high risk of stroke and cardiac arrest.

According to the global cutoff, a person with a BMI of 25 kilograms per square meter is considered overweight, while a person with a BMI of less than 27 kg / sq is considered overweight. The meter is considered obese.

However, the Asian cutoff recognizes 23 kg / sq. Standard overweight BMI and meter as 25kg / sq. Meter for obesity.

Covid-19 and obesity

Basit cited genetic problems, birth weight, early nutrition, compensatory growth, postnatal nutrition, and high-calorie condensed foods, among other factors behind the increase in obesity in Pakistan.

Riaz observed that the Covid-19 pandemic has contributed “significantly” to the rise in obesity-related problems in the country over the past two years.

“A pandemic is the main reason for the increase in obesity cases across the country over the last two years,” she said.

“Restrictions on blockades, closures of schools and gymnasiums, and limited sporting activities have further reduced general physical activity, especially in urban areas where unhealthy lifestyles have already led to an increase in obesity,” she said. explained.

She added that increased hours spent by online classes and food delivery chains also contributed to the surge.

Two health professionals recommended daily exercise, a healthy diet, and avoidance of sweet drinks and eating out as a means of reducing and ultimately eliminating the risk of obesity.

“If we want to spend more time playing sports and save children from obesity, we have to detain schools and colleges to require them to participate in sporting activities,” Rias said. Told.