Majority of Indian children are obese: Survey

The ‘Sports Skills and Fitness’ survey was performed in 21 schools partnered with EduSports from cities of Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Mangalore, Lucknow, Indore, Raipur, Coimbatore, Mohali, Baroda, Amritsar, Panipat and Moga.

Investigators found that 43 percent of children, who were aged 7 and above, had more than the ideally required body mass index (BMI), an important pointer of overall fitness that is linked to obesity.

"Students from the urban areas are under-privileged when it comes to space for outdoor activities. There is no issue of lack of nutrition. But, the worry is lack of exercise," said Saumil Majmudar, co-founder and MD of Bangalore-based EduSports.

Reshma Nayak, Programme leader at Yenepoya School in Mangalore said, “Lifestyles of children have become more passive and space constraints in cities have resulted in children not having an opportunity to play enough and becoming prone to health hazards.”

Study details and findings
The present study was conducted on 4,098 children in the age group of 5 to 14 years, from Sept. 2009 to June 2010. Out of the total study participants, 2,200 were boys and 1,898 were girls.

Physical fitness of the children was calculated on various factors such as aerobic, anaerobic capacity, muscle strength, flexibility and body composition.

Nearly 23 percent of the total children had a high BMI and 19 percent had low BMI ratios. Overall, 42 percent of the study participants did not have the ideal BMI ratios, said the EduSports study.

The study showed no major diversities in the fitness of children living in the metro and non-metro cities. No significant changes were witnessed in boys and girls either.

While 54 percent of metro-dwelling children had the ideal BMI, the rate of children having the needed BMI was 57 in non-metro cities.

Physical activity showed improved results
Another study conducted by EduSports, after the children played for 3 to 5 days in a week for nine months, however showed better results.

"The percentage of fit children increased from 54.96% to 67.72%. The overall health and fitness of children between ages 5-9 years can be enhanced significantly by providing children an opportunity to play on a regular basis," Saumil Majmudar said.

Who to blame for physical inactivity
Dr Arut Selvi, a research associate said, “Childhood obesity is considered a major health hazard which puts the younger generation at the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and other obesity-related disorders in future.”

“Lack of open spaces, lack of time for parents to make children play active out door games, restriction for independent mobility (most seen among girls) due to dense population (crowded residential areas), safety concerns, unruly transport, increase in social crimes (child abduction, abuse or harassment), are all reasons for physical inactivity in children,” she concluded.