Middle class less aware of obesity risk:

Devouring fast foods whether pizzas, burgers or 'parathas' in preference to a balance diet and lifestyle, the Indian middle class is increasingly courting diabetes and heart problems at a young age, warn experts.

A study of children in five government and an equal number of public schools here over the last few years has revealed that the incidence of obesity and overweight is on the rise affecting even the urban poor, states Anoop Misra, director and head of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases department at the Fortis Hospital.

"The incidence of overweight and obesity is not restricted to the urban rich but has been found more among urban middle class and poor. Even in semi-urban areas along the highway, the changing lifestyle is seeing increase in obesity," said Misra, who was earlier with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

For many years, Misra has been studying the growing incidence of obesity among school children under a project funded by the ministry of science and technology.

Misra is also a member of the newly constituted task force of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on childhood obesity. The force includes eminent doctors including senior AIIMS cardiologist K S Reddy and senior AIIMS paediatrician N.K. Arora, who is also president of the International Clinical Epidemiologist Network (INCLEN).

"Definition of childhood obesity and effective intervention to check the increase are some of the areas the task force is focusing on. INCLEN, through a study of 14 countries, is also trying to devise an intervention strategy," Misra told IANS.

Initial studies have revealed that in New Delhi there has been a 13 percent increase in the incidence of overweight and obesity among school children in the age group of 14-18 years.

In a study of 1,168 schoolchildren in 10 schools here, 28.9 percent were found to be overweight or obese, with 13 percent having high C-reactive protein, which is an early predictor for heart diseases.

"For 25 percent children to have C-reactive protein, when even adults do not have this high a percentage, is disturbing. The C-reactive protein appears with the hardening of arteries and is a better than cholesterol study for prediction of heart problems," said Misra.

A team of doctors including Misra will be undertaking a major project over the next three years in Delhi, Jaipur and Agra with funding from the Denmark-based World Diabetes Foundation to spread awareness in schools about healthy lifestyle - need for balanced diet and physical activities.

The project would see 120 students and 60 physical instructors being trained to keep the programme going after the initial phase and also expand it to other cities in an effort to keep the future generation lean and healthy.

Studies have shown that though the US and Britain lead among Western countries in the percentage of obese children and adults, Indians living in the US are fitter and aware of proper dietary habits than their brethren back home.

In fact, while the upper crust in India is more conscious of the need to keep fit and spend considerable funds to ensure this through physical activity, it is the middle-income group people who are given to indulgence when it comes to eating and not exercising.

Studies on slum dwellers done between 1999-2002 have also clearly revealed that the percentage of people with diabetes and those suffering due to smoking and alcohol consumption is the same as among upper and middle class families, said D K Hazra of the S N Medical College and Hospital in Agra.

"Changing demographic patterns show that it is not the upper crust but the middle class children that are becoming overindulgent," said Hazra, who will be leading the awareness campaign in Agra.

Hazra's advise to mothers is to keep their children away not just from burgers and pizzas but also Indian fast food like 'parathas' stuffed with potatoes and instead serve more sprouts and vegetables.