According to a study , India will stand second among 184 countries with 17 million obese children by 2025. On the assumptions of continued population growth given by the World Bank, this translates to a rise from some 219 million children in this age group in 2010 to 268 million children in 2025.

Experts suggest that in order to prevent the kids from falling prey to obesity, hypertension and diabetic complications, early prevention is the need of the hour. Of the four million deaths attributed to excess body weight in 2015, nearly 40 per cent occurred among people whose body mass index (BMI) fell below the threshold considered “obese”.

The major factors contributing towards obesity amongst children are ;

• Wrong eating habits
• Consumption of junk food
• Less physical activity
• Lack of awareness

The two polarised conditions faced by children in India are malnourishment and obesity and this shows the economic and health divide. Though the government is focusing on malnutrition but the obesity problem is being overlooked.

To control this epidemic which would take it to its peak in next five years, its high time for the school to play a major role as a prevention tool. One way the government is taking initiative to provide healthy nutritious mid day meal to school children and on the other hand the private schools are selling junk foods in their canteens.

Only a healthy India movement can stress on prevention rather than cure.
Doctors are of the view that earlier the number of patients with obesity or overweight was much less but the number has increased to a greater extent and patients are mostly from the upper middle class and middle class.

Doctors now are motivating mothers to breastfeed their infants upto two years to provide complete nutritional base for a healthy upbringing. But at the same time they urge that the focus on nutritional solid intake is equally important from the age of six months as a strong preventive measure.