As parents and teachers, children are our pride and joy. We certainly want the best for our precious ones. The way we feed them early in life can either safeguard or sabotage their health and happiness later in life. A Yale public health expert has projected that today’s generation of children are expected to have shorter life spans than their parents, a first in the history of mankind. As each generation has always outlived its previous generation due to better medical facilities and scientific advancements, it is obvious that some shifts in our lifestyles are endangering our children’s lives.

Rapidly changing urban eating habits and exercise patterns have been found to be the most significant factors which have altered health, growth and development.
While quality of nutrition in childhood determines children’s physical and mental development, research has now established that the process begins much earlier—in the womb during the foetal stages. Both under-nutrition and over-nutrition at this stage play a role in the development of diseases like obesity, diabetes and coronary artery disease later in life, suggesting clearly that prevention of chronic diseases should start even before childhood begins.

Childhood obesity has assumed an epidemic proportion globally. The trends appear to be more serious in nations in transitional stages of development like ours, both in terms of numbers and severity. Some studies indicate the prevalence rates for obesity in children in India may be even higher than the global average of 24 per cent—a great paradox given the poverty in our country.
Obesity in childhood and adolescence is an independent risk factor for adult obesity and a precursor to chronic degenerative diseases. The real concern is that adult diseases including high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, abnormal glucose tolerance, diabetes, stroke, liver diseases, bone diseases and cancer are manifesting earlier in childhood. Once developed, they stay throughout life.

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