More Bangkok Children Face Obesity

More Bangkok children face obesity

BANGKOK, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) — A recent survey has found a growing number of overweight children in the Thai capital, the Bangkok Post reported on Friday.

The study of 5,126 primary students in four public schools found 19 percent of them were overweight, compared with 5.8 percent recorded in 1990 and 13 percent in 1996.

A third of those children risked getting diabetes, 65 percent had higher-than-normal blood pressure and 30 percent had higher blood pressure than that of a healthy adult, said Chutima Sirikulchayanon, head of the nutrition department of the faculty of public health of Mahidol University, which conducted the survey.

The research team randomly picked 1,028 students who were underweight, overweight and with standard weight for cholesterol checks and found 77 percent had higher-than-normal cholesterol.

Bad eating habits and lack of exercise were blamed for the youngsters’ overweight.

Parents interviewed for the survey said their children liked to eat high-fat food such as fried chicken and sausages and snacks. They did not like fruit and vegetables, did not exercise and spent most of their time watching television and playing computer games.

The findings underlined those of a 2001 nationwide study which found 13.6 percent of 9,000 primary children were obese, said Saengsoam Sinawat, director of the Public Health Ministry’s nutrition division.

He said a study last year of 100,000 students across the country found 12 percent were obese.

Thailand’s public health ministry is now combating obesity among primary school students by helping teachers at 875 schools design weight-watch programs for students, which aims to get them out of their sedentary habits and improve their diet.

Schools also organize other activities including weight-loss camp, exercise programmers and nutritious lunches.