New Delhi: A study by Assocham revealed that overweight children in Delhi-NCR are more prone to diabetes than in the rest of the country. According to a study conducted by the Assocham Healthcare Committee council, about 69 per cent of children in Delhi are prone to this disease followed by Mumbai with 56 per cent of its total population.
The study revealed that a meagre four per cent children were engaged in physical activity and one in every ten children between the age of 5 and 16 years are overweight and are more prone to diabetes. Reasons for rise in childhood diabetes are high calorie diet, junk food, inactivity, less outdoor games, and more of indoor games.
As per the findings, about 72 per cent urban children don’t exercise regularly. Obesity is also a common factor and it has grown over 65 per cent among children.
The study estimated that in Ahmedabad 49 per cent children are diabetic while in Bengaluru, 39 per cent are diabetic. In Chennai, the percentage is estimated to be 28 per cent, in Hyderabad and Kolkata, the number of diabetic children are estimated at 28 per cent and 23 per cent of the total population respectively. Even in rural areas, people are increasingly becoming victims of diabetes. The study was conducted in private and public schools in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Kolkata among 10,000 children. Many children develop lifestyle diseases. Due to this, drastic change in lifestyle and eating habits is the need of hour to tackle the alarming situation, reveals the Assocham paper.
Releasing the study, the chairman of Assocham Health Committee council, Dr BK Rao, said: “Diabetes in children is generally attributed to bad eating habits, with nutritious meals being replaced with fast foods, coupled with physical inactivity. Stress is also another factor that leads to increase in diabetes cases. Urban kids, in the age group of 6 months to 18 years, are suffering from Type-I diabetes and some of these children are even getting four insulin shots a day. Kids suffering from diabetes are inheriting it genetically.” As per the findings, Delhiites consume high amount of oil, ghee, or butter in various cooked products. This has evidently increased the number of obesity and hypertension cases, giving a rise in the number of diabetics.
The study suggests that timely screening and early identification of the disease can help the victim take immediate steps and improve the quality of life. To enable this, Assocham and its members, under CSR activities, are organising a series of free medical camps in Delhi with PSRI hospital, where comprehensive check-up and information on diabetes management is being made available to participants.
