Start Child Fitness Classes In Schools, Say Healthcare Experts

Children heath is a big concern for all as kid's obesity is on the rise as they are not much into outdoor activities. It is time that kids need to rumble tumble and pay in the mud to get healthy. Healthcare experts are arguing that there is a need for an all-inclusive and result oriented fitness for children in India. Children's health is becoming a matter of concern globally. According to the World Health Organisation obese children tend to fall prey to lifestyle diseases to the extent of 60-70 per cent when they reach their 30s and 40s (the most productive years of their lives)

Being the second most populated country of the world, the situation is even more alarming in India. Statistics provided by Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism shows that 5.74 to 8.82 percent school children in India are obese.Meanwhile, a study published in Pediatric Obesity predicts that India will have about 17 million obese children by 2025. Another study shows that about 97,000 children India suffer from diabetes.Poor eating habit and sedentary lifestyle among children are two of the major reasons for the declining levels of physical fitness in children, leading to childhood obesity, diabetes and other lifestyle diseases

"It's estimated that a child 20 years from now is likely to suffer from diabetes and heart diseases which becomes unpreventable during adulthood. They can only be controlled if the kids are involved in some active sports." opines Dr. Arbinder Singal, CEO & Co Founder, Fitterfly. While health and fitness education provided in schools is seen as an important tool in dealing with this health issue, experts have noticed that the physical education programs being pursued by the schools in India are either obsolete or inadequate in addressing the emerging health challenges since they mostly revolve around theoretical aspects or random sports.Education and healthcare experts point out that in India no more than 10 per cent school going children are into active and competitive sports. This is because the schools tend to focus only on the diet of the kids who are expected to represent the school at local, regional, state and national level events, excluding a majority of children who end up as fence-sitters in the PT periods.