The number of obese children is reportedly increasing across the world. The simple reason is that they are exposed to unhealthy eating habits. It must be noted that a person's fitness, right from childhood, plays a crucial role in overall health development. Parents should make it a point that their child eats the right food loaded with essential nutrients, rather than food which could lead them to obesity and various other chronic diseases in future. Eating inappropriate food lacking important micronutrients can lead to malnourishment, which, in turn, could make the child obese. Let's take a look at how malnutrition can make a child obese. Children with Siblings Are Less Likely to Be Obese Than Single Kids.

According to a new Lancet report published in the journal of The Double Burden of Malnutrition, undernutrition and overnutrition are inter-connected. Malnutrition and Obesity are inseparable, they are found together in low-income and middle-income countries. The main reason for obesity and under-nourishment is processed food. These foods are cheaper, easily available and the worst part is that they increase hunger and at the same time they lack essential vitamins, minerals and protein. As per the report published in the Indian Journal of Public Health in the year 2019, India ranks second after China with the highest number of obese children (14.4 million). World Bank data also indicates that India has one of the world’s highest demographics of children suffering from malnutrition. Obesity Can Increase Risk of 13 Different Cancers in Young Adults.

Could Malnutrition Make Children Obese?

We often link over-eating to obesity, however, that's not exactly the case. The problem is not eating in excess, but what a child eats. Unfortunately, foods high in glycemic index are eaten the most by many children. These types of foods increase hunger as they get digested quickly and simultaneously spike the blood sugar level.

The government should take steps to ensure that kids are provided with food rich in carbohydrates, fibre, proteins and essential minerals like Vitamin C, Vitamin B, etc. Under-developed countries have maximum people below the poverty line or falling under the low-income group. These people can't afford to buy healthy food items like dairy products, eggs, fresh vegetables and fruits. In order to fulfil their hunger, they eat cheap processed food, high in the glycemic index value. Corporates which promote these processed foods are "white-collar murderers". Sadly, some children are born with this deficiency as their mothers are not able to eat such healthy stuff at the time of pregnancy.

Under-nourishment leads to fat around the waistline, which increases the belly fat and not the lean mass. We can see various malnourished children with a rounded belly and no mass on their other body parts. The fat around the belly in future can lead to problems like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart diseases.   It's high time that the Government designed policies by which children are provided with proper health foods.

The problem is not only restricted to low-income group people. Children born in good income-earning families also suffer from obesity. Parents, nowadays, do not monitor what their child eats. In order to make them happy, they provide them with high sugary food which just hampers their child's health. Parents should encourage their children to eat healthy food items which contain a proper proportion of macronutrients and micronutrients. Also, children should be motivated to play more outdoor games rather than playing games on cellphone, laptop, PCs or play-station.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 17, 2019 03:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).