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DateLine Wednesday, 25 February 2009

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Obesity strikes 15 pc Colombo schoolchildren

An alarming 15 per cent of children in Colombo schools suffer from obesity, a situation almost similar to that of Western countries, Dr. Harns Pathirage, a Consultant Physician attached to the Panadura Base Hospital said.

He said the main cause for this, which should be attributed to parents’ negligence, is the children’s addiction to fast food and soft drinks.

Obesity in children leads to many short and long term effects. Short term effects include physical problems such as pains in the joint, back and hip as well as exercise in-tolerance where the child will try to keep away from outdoor activities which are essential to mould his leadership qualities.

Obesity can also lead to lethargy, a factor which impairs the overall performance of a student in school.

Among the more acute long term effects are increase in the chances of bad cholesterol levels, blood sugar and high blood pressure.

Parents complain that children don’t like to eat nutritious food. Dr Pathirage said this is a lame excuse proven wrong.

“It’s not true; you must introduce nutritious food at a tender age. Variety is the secret”. He stressed that fast food should never compliment the meals of very young children.

“Generally children are reluctant to try new food. It is the parents who first get them to ‘have a go’ at junk food. Later they complain at this hard to undo mistake,” he said.

Among the other contributors to child obesity are irregular meals and excessive fat and carbohydrate contents in the meal. Parents must also ensure a set a time, at least for the main meals and try to abide by this.

Dr. Pathirage said fast food and soft drinks contain a lot of artificial agents like taste enhancers, emulsifiers, coloring and preservatives, etc as well as added sugar and salt, and high fat and carbohydrate contents. “These are all the perfect ingredients for growing up children to become sick adults.”

He stressed it was best to stick to Sri Lankan fruits, rather than opting for imported and impressive foreign ‘stuff’, that has been chemically treated to stay fresh ‘forever’. “Fresh fruit juices and home made meals are ideal for your child’s health,” Dr Pathirage said. According to him it can be a home made ‘club sandwich’, not always kola kenda or red rice and curry.

Dr. Pathirage was speaking at a meeting attended by parents of primary students of the Musaeus College, Colombo recently.

 

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