JOIN USCajoling and coaxing young babies to over feed is common in many communities. In India, two ill-founded beliefs are at work in feeding the child: One – the more, the better for child’s health. Due to ignorance about actual body requirement, mothers of well-fed children also grudge about the low dietary intake of their babies.
Let alone stopping the child from overeating, many parents encourage him or her to have a little more than the little child can. Second is the fear that the evil eyes or malicious intents of envious neighbours and others in proximity can hamper the growth and fitness of their darling.
Overdue emphasis on food vis-à-vis other vital issues is reflected in planning a social get together like marriage or birthday party where the most hotly debated point is the menu. Similar excitement is witnessed on the food items to be served in corporate meetings, seminars, etc. Satisfaction with meals features as an important part of formal feedback towards the end of scientific and other workshops.
Thanks to excessive focus on eatables, the world has 2.1 billion people – nearly 30 per cent of the world’s population – that are obese or overweight, as reported by The Lancet some months ago. Half of the obese persons in the world are in 10 countries: US, China, India, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, Germany, Pakistan and Indonesia.
Admittedly, all biological entities require nutrition in the form of food, like auto vehicles need fuel. It supplies us energy for daily activities, protects from diseases and keeps us fit and kicking. However, a vital question hardly asked is, how much food do we really need as also the way we consume it.
As for quantum, largely due to enhanced economic status, we eat in excess of (about 10 per cent more calories) than what we need. In England, where childhood obesity is being demanded to be treated as ‘national emergency,’ 65 per cent men and 58 per cent women are overweight or obese. The trend is similar in the US and Australia.
Obesity claims over three million persons annually, thrice the figure for malnutrition worldwide, as many studies have shown. Also, 65 per cent of the world's population lives in countries where overweight and obesity kill more people than underweight. Due to the lifestyle most people have espoused, by 2030 over half the world population will become obese. Many studies have shown that being overweight increases the chances of raised blood pressure leading to stroke and heart disease, both together implicated for a quarter of all deaths.
Diabetes and infertility
Type 2 diabetes and infertility are also associated with accumulated fat in the body. Globally, overeating today is a greater menace to the mankind than starvation as more persons die of excessive eating and resultant complications than due to hunger. According to Alan Lopez of University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia who has extensively studied the issue said, “A greater amount of disease burden has occurred because people are fat and have too much to eat, as opposed to having too little to eat.”
An apparently tough stand at child’s demand for undesirable foods may momentarily hurt the children but it is ever in their ulterior interest, suggests Dr Phil McGraw, the mental health professional. He says: “If you are worried about hurting your child's feelings by not giving him/her what he/she wants to eat, remember that refusing to give your child unhealthy foods could actually save his/her life.”
Equally damaging is the promise of food items for good work done. “Do not use food
as a reward. You can love your child in different ways without food. Why not reward your child with your time? Reading a bedtime story, taking a walk or playing catch are things
you can do to connect with your child and make them feel special without unnecessary calories.”
Concern over overeating by children was recently articulated by US president Barack Obama during his recent visit as chief guest in this year’s Indian Republic Day celebration, “We're seeing a world-wide epidemic of obesity, in many cases starting at a very young age. And a part of it has to do with an increase in processed foods, not naturally prepared. Part of it is a lack of activity for too many children. And once they are on this path, it can lead to a life time of health challenges. This is an issue that we would like to work on internationally, including here in India.”
The early Indian treatises on health and longevity, including Ayurveda, advocate eating less but properly and judiciously that has significant role in health and fitness besides yoga exercises, something now medical scientists are increasingly advocating. That augurs well for one and all, indeed.