One in every ten children more prone to diabetes in urban India: Study

One in every ten children between the age of 5-16 yrs are overweight and are more prone to diabetic, reasons for rise in childhood diabetes are high calorie diet, junk food, inactivity, less outdoor games and more of indoor games, according to a recent study conducted by Assocham Health committee council on the occasion of ‘World Diabetic day’ on November 14.

Children’s Day coinciding with Diabetes Day has revealed that one in every ten children less than 16 are more prone to diabetes in urban India, reveals the Assocham study. As per the findings, about 72 per cent urban children don't exercise regularly. Obesity is also a common factor and it has grown over 65 per cent among the children.     

The study was conducted in private and public school in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata among 10,000 children. Many children develop lifestyle diseases, due to this drastic change in lifestyle and eating habits is the need of hour to tackle the alarming situation, revealed the Assocham paper.

The recent trend is worrying; children are at a risk of diabetes-related complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, eye problems, nerve damage, etc. According to a recent study conducted by the Assocham Healthcare Committee council found that about 69 percent of Delhi’s children are more prone to diabetic, followed by Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, observed D S Rawat, secretary general, Assocham.

It revealed that about 69 percent of Delhi kids are prone to this disease, which in the case of Mumbai is estimated at 56 percent of its total population. In Ahmedabad 49 percent people are diabetic, in Bangalore 39 percent while in Chennai the percentage is estimated to be 28 percent. In Hyderabad and Kolkata, the number of diabetic patients is estimated at 28 percent and 23 percent of the total population respectively. Even in rural areas, people are increasingly becoming victims of diabetes.

The study said there is a fourfold rise in the number of diabetics about 422 million in 2014 and half of them live in India, China, USA, Brazil and Indonesia. Developing countries become more vulnerable because of lack of knowledge especially in rural areas, added the report.

Dr B K Rao, chairman of Assocham Health Committee council, said, “Diabetes in children is generally attributed to bad eating habits, with nutritious meals being replaced with fast foods, coupled with physical inactivity. Stress is also another factor that leads to increase in diabetes cases.”