A Crisis of Affluence and Apathy

A recent study by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) should serve as a national wake-up call. Among nearly 4,000 schoolchildren surveyed in Delhi, a staggering 13.4% were found to be obese and 7.4% hypertensive. Even more concerning is the disparity between private and public school students — 24% of the former are obese, compared to just 4.5% in government schools. Obesity, once a marker of affluence, is now emerging as a serious health liability among India’s urban, well-off children.

This is not merely about weight. The AIIMS findings reveal a sinister pattern of metabolic syndrome among private-school children — an amalgam of hypertension, abnormal cholesterol, and insulin resistance — that places them at heightened risk of early-onset cardiovascular diseases, Type 2 diabetes, and mental health disorders. The roots of this crisis lie in rapid urbanisation, sedentary routines, and diets rich in ultra-processed, sugar-laden foods. Paradoxically, while India continues to struggle with undernutrition in large pockets, urban prosperity is fostering a new epidemic of overnutrition.

The Lancet’s 2024 Global Burden of Disease report reveals a sobering trend: obese children in India have increased from 0.4 million in 1990 to 12.5 million in 2022. This exponential rise cannot be treated as a private health matter — it is a national emergency unfolding silently across classrooms and homes. Yet, public awareness and institutional response remain tepid at best.

The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (2016-18) had already flagged the pre-diabetic status of over 15% of Indian children and adolescents. That these red flags continue to be ignored reflects systemic apathy. The CBSE’s recent initiative to install “sugar boards” in schools is a start, but wholly insufficient. What’s required is a multi-pronged approach — one that mandates daily physical education, bans junk food in school canteens, and curbs the aggressive marketing of “child-friendly” processed foods.

Parents must take responsibility too. Screen addiction, lack of outdoor play, and overindulgence in unhealthy diets are often shaped at home. Schools must not reduce health to token lectures or one-off activities. And government policy must treat childhood obesity as a serious public health issue — not a lifestyle choice. Affluence must not come at the cost of well-being — especially not that of our children.