Be it a sedentary lifestyle or poor eating habits, Delhi teenagers are suffering big time with obesity and weight-related problems. According to a survey, more than 35% of Delhi teenagers are obese or overweight, which affects their quality of life as well as emotional and physical wellness. The survey titled ‘Juvenile Obesity’ revealed that 38.5% of children aged 5 to 9 years are overweight while in the 10-14 age group, 40.1% are overweight. The survey was conducted on over 1,000 children in Delhi.
As a result of obesity, 29.7 per cent children experienced a dip in "happiness level", 28.3 per cent became "less social" and 20.2 per cent become "more irritable". Obesity not only hampered their physical life, but also productivity, self-esteem as well as emotional wellness of children and adolescents, the survey noted.
The rise in obesity among the teenagers can be attributed to various lifestyle choices such as unhealthy eating habits, poor physical activity levels, less sleeping habits as well as increasing screen time, peer pressure, among others.
"They (the children) do not burn any calories after their eating late at night as they sleep after that and at the same time during the day, they are lethargic thus burning very less calories in the day," Pradeep Chowbey, Chairman of the Department of Minimal Access, Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery at Max Healthcare, said in a statement on Friday.
"Moreover, the increased screen time in children these days causes a lot of emotional and hormonal changes. Stress hormones and steroids production are increased in the body which in turn increases the appetite thus contributing to weight gain," he added.
Moreover, over 26 per cent obese children reported experiencing bullying, while 25 per cent suffered from body shaming. The stress caused by these pressures, causes stress and impacts a teenagers' confidence level and social life, which in turn causes binge eating.
The survey also shed light on the fact that 84.7% of teenagers consume junk food, aerated drink and chocolates 2-3 times a week, which is detrimental to their health, especially body weight.
(With IANS Inputs)
