For about five years now, I have tried to screen the Lipid profile of developmentally challenged children between three and five years. Those children who were born pre-term or with low birth weight or children born to parents who were overweight or who showed signs of overweight with more subcutaneous fat when measured with a skin calliper, were the ones whose Lipid profile I got done.
My first impression was alarming. In a three months when this was done in 22 children, 18 of them had an altered Lipid profile.
The early onset of adult diseases in children has an adverse impact on health in later life. This has been the subject of concern globally for a while now.
The few clinical parameters to help in the causal pathway of this malady is by keeping a watch on the Body Mass Index, measuring the abdominal girth at the epigastrium, umbilical level and at the loin, measuring the subcutaneous fat at the inter scapular level and the left triceps and getting a diet history of the child for five consecutive days of the food consumed and knowing the amount of oil bought at home for cooking every month. It has been a practice in the department where I work, to measure the height, weight and head size of parents, which help in having a conversation with parents about weight, exercise and food habits.
What I find encouraging is how the clinical exercises we undertake to look into the issue of overweight, alert parents to seek a conversation on the issue of overweight.
During the conversations, parents often are happy to avoid feeding children with snacks while watching TV; make a family exercise plan such as half an hour walking at least five days a week, make meal times more friendly and hospitable for eating well to reduce in between snacking and to buy a mechanical weighing machine for a monthly weight recording of the family members and a measuring tape to measure the abdominal girth along with it. I have come across some parents who skip seasoning food to reduce oil consumption.
Fortunately, I have the captive attention of parents when they come to consult on the developmental needs of children. There it is possible to raise some family wellness rated conversation. Seeing the Lipid profile altered in children, some parents discovered that theirs is also altered, to their surprise.
It took about 25 years of consistent efforts globally to spread the information on the harmful effects of smoking, before we witnessed the decline in smoking. At least there is a consciousness that smoking is harmful. Inspite of highlighting the harmful effects of alcohol consumption, the habit of younger people taking to alcohol is not on the decline. The campaign for 'healthy food for healthy living' which the department where I work, has been engaged in, is a small step to get families to think about changes they need to experience for healthy living.
I went to five supermarkets recently and asked if they would put up a poster in a prominent place, 'Choose health and healthy foods' as a dialogue starter about good food habits. At the MaDonald fast food eatery, I saw a notice, 'Low calorie menu'! That was a small beginning. McDonald's has to do a lot more as it faulted for years by luring the children and young people to high calorie burgers and fried chips !
I calculated the calorie level of breakfast served in one of the hospital canteens yesterday. It was about 400 calories and about 8 grams of protein. That was a moderate level for one meal, may be marginally high for breakfast for someone who is already overweight.
Another concern I carried with me in the recent months was to ask people above forty years to download an application on their smartphone to know the distance they walked each day. I believe that if it is about 3 kilometres including the half an hour exercise walk, then there is a balance between food intake and exercise.
It is difficult to treat overweight and fat accumulation in the body. But it is possible to prevent it.
For children it is a significant health issue. If only we can generate an enthusiasm among children to maintain a healthy body, we are preventing the consequences of a major health hazard!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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