COVID-19 Pandemic: Increase risk factors for childhood obesity

Childhood obesity is a major risk factor for obesity in later life, which is associated to health problems such as heart disease and diabetes. Prolonged school closures due to COVID-19 could raise risk factors for weight gain in children. Parents need to know about the significance of keeping their children active to lessen risk factors for childhood obesity even with school closures and social distancing.

During the pandemic, parents are finding it challenging to limit their children’s screen time and encourage physical activities — especially while balancing work, managing household chores, and supervising online school assignments. Closures of parks and public places have forced children to temporarily restraint from sports and other activities. Social distancing also reduces the chance for children to exercise and play outdoors. Another concern here is that increased screen time is connected with increased snacking. Families and children are dealing with increased boredom and anxiety, these sentiments eventually relate to overeating.

Regular exercise is vital for all, including children. Children will be more interested to exercise if the whole family participates, like yoga sessions at home, dancing together, walking the dog or family walks, etc. Many online services offer exercise videos especially for children. Work with your child to set an age-appropriate exercise goal, to encourage them to keep moving. However, for the following reasons, exercise is particularly important for children during the COVID-19 pandemic:

Prevent weight gain Exercise can help children burn calories and balance the effects of sedentary activities.

Reduces anxiety Exercise is a mood-booster and can help children reduce their stress levels and build emotional spirit.

Boosts the immune system Exercise has immune-boosting benefits that may help children and adults to fight off infections, including COVID-19.

Also, here are some healthy eating tips for your family.

Include fruits and vegetables in the diet give children freshly-cut salads, large batches of soups and stews. Take care to add foods rich in vitamin C like citrus fruits, foods rich in zinc, like whole grains, baked beans and nuts, in the diet. These foods can protect against viral infections.

Avoid processed and artificially-preserved food as they have high quantity of saturated fatty acids, sugars and salt. Eating freshly home – cooked food as it will be hygienic for children, hence reducing risk of infections. Adding milk and milk-based products like curd will help in maintaining good health, and food fortified with Vitamin D are useful.

Build up a stock of healthy snacks nuts, cheese, yoghurt (preferably unsweetened), chopped or dried fruits, boiled eggs, etc. Limit the amount of added sugar your child eats or drinks.

Drink enough water   It is recommended to drink a maximum of eight glasses of water per day for children age 9 and older.

A healthy diet along with regular physical activity can help children stay fit while schools are closed. Taking steps to reduce your child’s risk factors for childhood obesity during the COVID-19 pandemic and all year long will lay the foundation for a lifespan of good health.

The Gulf Obesity Crisis

Obesity is now the biggest healthcare challenge world wide, approximately one in three is either obese or overweight. It has overtaken malnutrition and infectious diseases as the worlds no.1 heath problem. The problem is even bigger in middle east. According to one study, 51 million people in the Gulf are classed as obese. An epidemic indeed. In the same study, Qatar is reported to have the highest incidence of obese men (44 per cent) in the Middle East and North Africa region, followed by Kuwait (43 per cent) and Bahrain (31 per cent), while the prevalence of obesity among women exceeded 50 per cent in three Middle Eastern countries; Kuwait (59 per cent), Libya (57 per cent) and Qatar (55 per cent).

Not only does obesity carry serious consequences for people’s health, it  also carries a global cost of $2 trillion, consuming 2.8 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product and demanding approximately 15 per cent from the healthcare budgets of developed countries, according to the authors of the McKinsey report.

Researchers have produced the startling forecast that if current obesity rates continue, almost half of the world’s adult population will be overweight or obese by 2030.

The demand for bariatric surgery is increasing by 20 per cent annually in Gulf countries, however in many cases it is out of necessity rather than choice. Bariatric surgery is proven to reduce the risk of serious health complications associated with obesity such as cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, certain cancers and perhaps most pressing for the region, type 2 diabetes. According to experts, we must not believe that obesity is not self-inflicted or a lifestyle choice, rather than a critical health issue.

It is these damaging perceptions which have led to widespread criticism of bariatric surgery, which can cost between $8,000 and $15,000, as many claim that the procedure is becoming a substitute for a lifestyle overhaul. It is from this viewpoint that a serious stigma has emerged.

An increase in bariatric procedures could also realize financial savings for governments and healthcare systems alike, as patients who have undergone surgery, are more likely to avoid life-threatening and costly conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, which currently affects approximately one in ten adults in the Middle East and North Africa region

More young patients end up undergoing bariatric surgery in UAE

Doctors advise weight-loss procedures if children have high BMI and other health issues

Abu Dhabi: With obesity cases rising in the UAE, more and more younger patients are being recommended for weight-loss surgeries, experts have said.

The surgeries are a last resort in the fight against obesity and its related complications. They are often a better choice than letting children’s health get progressively worse.

Statistics compiled by regulator Health Authority Abu Dhabi (Haad), indicate that nearly 30 per cent of school going children in Abu Dhabi are overweight or obese and the proportion rises to 40 per cent among teenagers. Worldwide obesity has nearly doubled since 1980 and in 2011 more than 40 million children under the age of five were overweight (WHO).

Unless we take some drastic and wide ranging measures, the obesity will soon become worlds biggest and most expensive health issue ever.

A food for thought,shall we say.