Watching TV is making kids obese, stunting growth

1. Experts say children who watch TV for more than 3 hours a day will be gain 5% more weight than those who do not
2. Growth rates of children have been falling in Telangana for the past few years

Hyderabad: A child who watches television for more than three hours a day will be five 5 per cent more obese than who does not watch television during early growth period. The growth rate among children in the urban areas of Telangana is 22 per cent and it is 32 per cent in the rural areas of the state. The growth rate has been decreasing in Telangana for the few years.

Dr Pavan Kumar, associate professor of paediatrics, MNR Medical College, Hyderabad said, "Nowadays, children are more addicted to playing on mobile phones rather than playing outdoors. There are various hormones within our bodies. For these children who play games on mobile phones, the satisfaction of winning the game comes when the hormone dopamine rises.

Now-a-days they don't need to go outside to get this dopamine as they get it by simply playing these video games or action games that bring happiness to them. This affect the childhood of these children. The child is becoming overweight because of this which is also stunting their growth."

Dr Irfan Shaikh, head of scientific and medical affairs, Abbott Pediatric Nutrition, said, "Growth and development are the most important aspects of childhood. There is a time-bound window of opportunity right from conception to 5 years and growth continues beyond that."

According to him, there are two types of nutrition; macro nutrition and micro nutrition. Macro nutrition includes carbohydrates and proteins. It is very important for the child to take it regularly without skipping it even for a day. When it comes to micro nutrition as the name 'micro' suggests, it should be taken in a smaller amounts.

Micro nutrition is very critical for the development of the child. A variety of foods need to be taken to get all the nutrition. Some might be high in nutrition and some low. There should be a combination of both the foods with high and low nutrition, he adds.

Dr Marion M Aw, associate professor, department of paediatrics, National University of Singapore, says, "In 2018, 55 per cent of all the stunting cases in children under five years of age occurred in Asia. Two out of five stunted children live in Southern Asia."