India has been growing at nearly 7%, every year, since 2004. Indians are getting wealthier but it does not mean that they are getting any healthier, which is a growing concern. This prosperity has come at a cost since we are now living, quite a sedentary lifestyle.

Good nutrition is a basic component of good health. The food we eat today, plays an important role in shaping our destiny as an individual and as a family. Our health is directly affected by the type, quality and quantity of food we consume, our living style and our attitude towards life.

In this age of modernization, on one hand, high rises are built providing various lifestyle amenities but with no space for playgrounds to play outdoor games like Football, Soccer, Kho-Kho, Lagori etc. and on the other hand all these games are easily available in form of ‘Applications’ in mobile phones, PSP, video or computer games.

Kids even play racing games virtually and not outdoors. These practices have given rise to lifestyle diseases like Obesity, Diabetes, Blood pressure, Anemia, Osteopenia, Hyperacidity, etc. at a very early age.

Today family dinners are rare scene. Traditional food skills are not passed on from parent to child since the vast majority of working mothers are exhausted in travelling, doing household chores, and undergoing related stress, leading to a situation where parents can spend hardly any quality time with their children.

We have forgotten that nourishment is the primary reason for eating. Television commercials and supermarkets are propagating a wide variety of junk foods, attractively packaged and often tagged with a tempting advertisements. In informal terms, ‘Junk foods’ are ready to eat convenience foods containing high levels of refined flours, saturated fats, salt and/or sugar, colors and chemicals which may be carcinogenic and harmful to our body in the long run. Junk foods include Hotdogs, Pizza, Instant Noodles, Chocolates, Cakes, Donuts, Pastries, Vada Pav, Samosa, Aerated Drinks etc. They all have contributed to increasing Obesity in the younger generation at an alarming rate.

In the last 24 years of my experience as a qualified registered dietician, I have treated many obese children. When I assess their lifestyle and food patterns, I always find that these kids lack stamina, have no sports fitness, low endurance levels and hemoglobin levels, because their diet lacks nourishing food items with good quality proteins.

A teenager’s life is full of educational challenges that require long attentive spans, hard work and stamina. In the same way stamina and fitness is required while playing outdoor games. Junk foods are very popular in this age group, maybe because they are easy to cook, palatable and have a very tempting taste. When coupled with the sedentary modernized lifestyles, they only sum up, to form a positive energy balance and no energy expenditure. These foods don’t provide them with essential nutrients. It just gives satiety for the time being. After eating such foodstuffs, kids feel drowsy, sleepy and fail to concentrate on studies. Blood circulation drops due to fat accumulation. They feel very lethargic. Neither do they feel like doing any kind of intellectual work nor do they like playing, exercising, running, jogging or swimming.

I have also noticed in last few years that, due to intense competition, back to back tuitions, etc there are long time gaps between meals. As soon as the kids finish their classes, they binge on whatever is handy and easily available. Now a days, kids tire easily, thanks to the ready to eat foodstuffs, biscuits made from Maida, like Kharee, Toast - Butter, Cream biscuits, Chips, Farsan, etc. If you visit any grocery mall,and observe the people in the queue there, you will find big bottles of Aerated Drinks, Smileys, Noodles, Cream biscuits, Fries etc. more than the real grocery items.

But does this mean that we should have banned such items totally?

No ! Not all foods are junk. Our bodies have enough stamina to take care of eating junk foods occasionally. Indulging in junk food once in a while is perfectly alright. But the lure of convenience and taste is strong enough to turn into an addiction. The only thing required is to decide how often to binge on the so called favourite snacks. It is also very important to increase activities such as brisk walking, taking the stairs rather than lifts etc.

So to improve stamina and reduce obesity what steps should be taken?

• Kids should not skip breakfast, lunch, dinner.
• In every meal they must consume foods giving good quality proteins like pulses, peanuts, dry fruits, cheese, paneer, curd, milk, egg, fish, chicken etc.
• Instead of fruit juices have whole fruits, which give satiety and all the important vitamins and minerals required for the body.
• Instead of cold Aerated drinks, have Lime juice, Kokam sharbat, Coconut water, Soya milk, Buttermilk, Lassi (homemade).
• Instead of Aloo Pattice, Burger, Samosa etc. various vegetables along with some sprouts / paneer / grated cheese / egg or boiled chicken pieces should be added.
• Various recipes in the junk food list can be made with modifications. Refined flour should be substituted with whole grain cereals flours. Instead of plain Aloo, all types of vegetables to be added along with some kind of protein source. As long as these foods are made from good quality ingredients with less salt content, no colors or additives, they will make a valuable contribution to a healthy diet.
• Have plenty of fluids in a day.
• Parents should not pamper their kids too much by keeping a stock of ready to eat packets, aerated drinks, frozen packets of nuggets, fries etc.
• Parents should always prefer and create liking towards home made recipes which will include all the food items of food pyramid in a very balanced manner.
• Kids are in school for more than 6-7 hrs. where they require stamina, and hence they should carry their lunch boxes/ Tiffin consisting of any homemade food items containing protein rich source and roughage (fiber), but not chips, chakli, chivda etc..
• Spend money on dry fruits, fresh fruits, cheese, paneer, instead of spending on junk foods, chocolates, pastries.
• No long gaps between any two meals.
• Just filling the stomach should not be the idea behind eating and feeling full.
• Walking or Cycling to school rather than travelling in motorized vehicles can be particularly effective in controlling weight on a long term basis.
• It is very important to strictly restrict the time children spend watching TV or playing indoor games on computer to maximum 2 hours /day. Rather, they should play outdoor games.

Last but not the least, awareness of food facts is lacking in our society. Everybody should be conscious about what we are eating, about the nutritive quality of the food so that healthy choices can be made. So let us join hands to say No - No to the junk and welcome to good health. India needs our next generation to be fit mentally as well as physically.