Determinants of Childhood Obesity: Need for a Trans-Sectoral Convergent Approach

Abstract

The emerging burden of non communicable diseases is likely to erode the "Demographic-Dividend" of India and compromise the national growth and development. Increasing rates of childhood obesity globally and in India is a cause for serious public health concern. It is becoming increasingly apparent that obesity is result of complex interplay between multiple genes, environmental factors and human behavior. Clear comprehension of this interaction and pathway is still not clear, making the prevention and management of obesity especially challenging. Globalization and rapid economic growth has led to dramatic changes in the life style of the population including food intake, physical activity, market, environmental factors and social structures. A growing economy, urbanization and motorized transport have increased physical inactivity. A systematic multi-sectoral approach with population health as the center of discourse and attention is the only key to tackle this problem.

Prevalence and predictors of overweight and obesity among school-aged children in urban Ghana

“…All these changes influence the food system in ways that then fuel behavior changes linked with increased energy-dense food consumption and reduced physical activity [ 3 , 4 ]. In particular, living in an urban setting has been linked with increased risk of childhood obesity in developing countries [ 2 , 5 ].…”

A “snapshot” of physical activity and food habits among private school children in India

“…It has been suggested that economic changes and globalization have increased Indian children’s reliance on technology and interest in sedentary pursuits and that inadequate activity is contributing to rising obesity, particularly among affluent children (Kiranmala et al, 2013; Kotian et al, 2010). However, children in our study, who attended private school and were from relatively high-status families, indicated that being active was important to them.…”

“…Popkin and colleagues linked this nutrition transition to economic, technological, and social changes. At the same time, the transition to industrialized economies and expanding access to technology may be making many leisure, occupational, household, and transportation activities more sedentary (Gupta et al, 2012; Kiranmala et al, 2013). Behavior changes may also reflect changing preferences influenced by access to new goods and ideas through global markets and mass media (Sullivan et al, 2011; Verma and Sharma, 2003).…”

Weekdays and Weekends Variation of Step Count in 9 to 11 Years Old Obese School Children

“…Hazreen et al, further reported high sedentary lifestyle among adolescents from rural area in Malaysia which may contribute to the occurrence of adiposity [4]. Numerous studies reported that physical activity was inversely correlated with obesity [5][6][7][8]. The knowledge regarding the relationship between physical activity and obesity was important in order to tackle the childhood obesity problem in Malaysia [9].…”