Is Obesity taking toll on Cognitive Functions of Children and Adolescents?

Letter to Editor

Abstract

The prevalence of childhood obesity has been rising continuously over the past two decades and it has become a major health problem both in developed and developing countries including India (Ebbeling, Pawlak, & Ludwig, 2002). Traditional Indian culture upholds certain myths and misconceptions about childhood obesity such as a fat child is a healthy child, plumpness passes away with growth spurt over the years, fatness in an offspring is indicative of the prosperity of his or her family, and childhood is the age to eat and relax. But unlike the past, today obesity is recognized as a major health risk condition. Childhood is a time of constant cognitive development for children so it becomes imperative to provide adequate stimulation to children in their early years of life.