Srinagar Mar 25: During a routine check-up, 15-year-old Mohsin Ahmad’s parents received unexpected news. Following an examination, the physician advised him to undergo various tests, revealing that he had developed hypertension or elevated blood pressure.
“Mohsin’s father couldn’t comprehend how this could happen at such a young age,” stated the doctor overseeing his treatment.
Like Mohsin, there are hundreds of children in Kashmir who have developed obesity mainly due to lifestyle factors.
“The prevalence of overweight children was 24.7%, while that of obesity was 11.5%,” it said.
According to the study, this high prevalence of overweight and obesity in school-going children, with no significant difference in the obesity prevalence between boys and girls, demands urgent measures.
“If left untreated, it has the potential to flare pandemics of non-communicable diseases among the Kashmiri population in the future,” the study said.
Dr Umar Khan, a physician, said obesity in children is a major problem that can lead to long-term issues such as low self-esteem and depression.
“Also, the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, asthma, and sleep apnea can considerably rise due to obesity,” he said. He, however, said the silver lining is that childhood obesity can be reversed, and parents can play a huge role in turning things around for their overweight children.
“In the process, they can also benefit themselves and other family members who may be overweight. Parents should not, however, adopt dietary or lifestyle modifications based simply on the perception that their child is overweight,” he said. He stressed that since children’s bodies change with age, determining whether or not a child is overweight can be tricky.
