Renowned Cardiologist Dr Azhar Mahmood Kayani on Sunday urged media to begin an awareness campaign to address the alarming prevalence of obesity among youth which is predisposing them to early heart diseases and diabetes.
Dr Kayani underscored that if the existing lifestyle patterns persist, the risk of these health issues occurring at a younger age will escalate in the upcoming years. “A number of young people aged 19 to 25 years are developing early age heart diseases, diabetes, apart from hypertension, metabolic syndrome and several harmonic issues because of obesity,” he said while talking to the media.
"We have to bind our schools and colleges to increase sports time and make it mandatory for children to take part in sports activities if we want to save them from being obese in the future,” he added.
Parents must ensure that screen time should be cut down to less than 60 minutes per day, he said, adding, that children have become addicted to it because of the social media use in our lives.
The major reason for the rise of obesity among children in recent times is multifaceted, he said, adding, childhood obesity is now a growing public health concern in low and middle-income countries, where early prevention is essential.
“Youngsters should be engaged in daily physical activity along with a healthy, balanced diet full of proteins and vitamins,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 7th, 2023.
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