Pre-dinner junk food makes city children unhealthiest

Vellore, Jan. 22: Chennai kids are now officially the unhealthiest in the country-a recent study by research firm AC Nielsen has found that 93 per cent of children here indulge in pre-dinner snacking. Children in the other metros were found to snack on healthier traditional eatables like uttappa and poha, with Mumbais kids choosing soup as their favorite pre-dinner snack.However, evening tiffin for children in the city, has moved from sundal and idlis to processed and deep fried junk food, complain doctors. This trend is all the more alarming considering that Chennai kids are regarded as the most obese in the country.Packaged ready-to-eat snacks may fill the childs stomach, but only with empty calories. They are full of fat and carbohydrates, but do not contain vitamins, minerals or fibre, says Mrs Meenakshi Bajaj, medical nutrition therapist at the government general Hospital.Unhealthy snacking in children who are not active enough to work off the extra calories, could lead to obesity and heart disease. We have recently found that one does not have to wait till the age of 40 age to develop heart disease, arteriosclerosis (thickening of artery walls with fatty material) can begin at 2 years of age, says Dr Bajaj.Approximately half of all children under the age of 12 are either obese or overweight and studies conducted by hospitals here have revealed that 33 per cent of children from upmarket schools and 10 per cent from corporation schools are overweight and 4 to 8 per cent of them, obese.These days, children watch so much TV and lap up all the advertisements for junk food targeted at them. Not only do they miss out on healthy physical activity, but also make the wrong food choices, says Dr Jayashree Gopal, consultant endocrinologist at Apollo Hospital here.It is especially difficult to lose weight gained during adolescence, as the body is wired to grow during those crucial years. Apart from exercising and eating healthy food, there is little we can do, as crash diets are not advis! ed, she says. Snacking just before dinner is bound to ruin the childs appetite, says Dr Dharini Krishnan, former president of the Indian Dietetic Association. Most often, the food that a child consumes at around 4 pm, after returning from school, is his first proper meal of the day, as breakfast is skipped and lunch is packed. This snack needs to be light, but nutritious, she says.Older children studying for the board examinations tend to binge on junk food, as they take snack breaks every two hours. This is not only unhealthy for the body, but will make them drowsy and affect their concentration, says Dr Dharini.

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