Obesity

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Air conditioning / Heating

65.     Air conditioning in the summer keeps us in a comfortable temperature range in which we do not have to regulate our body heat naturally by sweating to stay cool. Also our appetites decrease naturally in summer and we eat less but in case of air conditioning, our appetites don’t decrease and we tend to eat more as in winter and gain weight. Similarly heating in the winter limits calories burnt naturally through shivering, which results in weight gain.

 CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Introduction

66.     The problem of obesity in children is fast assuming mammoth dimensions in the present day scenario. A study found that about a quarter of children are either over-weight or obese. For the first time, obesity is regarded as a disease of childhood as well as adulthood. The origin of adult obesity often lies in early childhood. Statistically, children who are over-weight by the age of 2 years turn into fat adults more frequently than their lean playmates. Doctors at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi were surprised to see a 14 month old baby boy weighing 17 kg. in April 2007. The weight should have been between 8-11 kg. The baby was morbidly obese as he was fed every one hour. The perception that puppy or baby fat in children disappears as they grow old is a great myth!

 Main Causes of Childhood Obesity

67.     There are many and varied causes of childhood obesity. Some of these are listed below: –

 (i)      Faulty Feeding Patterns – Early feeding patterns set the stage for adult obesity. The most common cause is mistakenly fattening the child with formula or cow’s milk, excess starch, especially refined, around 4 months of age. This is far too early for proper digestion and sets the stage for later allergies. Babies, who are bottle-fed take in more calories than breast feeding and are more likely to suffer from obesity later in life. Bottle feeding could also lead to a pattern of overeating which may become difficult to overcome. It seems breast-fed babies for 6-12 months are better able to regulate their energy intake than formula-fed babies and have less chance of being obese. However, if the breast-feeding mother is herself on an improper diet of excess refined carbohydrates, sugar and excess fats/oils, she is not only laying the foundation for infant obesity, but also for a generally unhealthy child.