KEY FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY:
• About 10% of primary school children are obese and a further 13%
children overweight and 9.4% of those in middle and secondary
school are too thin;
• Vision problems are more common among children in the primary
and secondary age group with 1 in 7 and 1 in 5 children affected,
respectively;
• Dental caries has emerged as the most neglected chronic condition
among children; and
• Nearly 8% of children have clinical signs of anemia (a non-invasive,
more-sensitive test for anemia will probably reveal a much higher
prevalence of anemia).
Volume 3 | Issue 3 | July-September 2018
41
AddressHealth’s
school
health
services are designed by a team of
pediatricians, public health experts,
child psychiatrists, psychologists,
nutritionists and other health
professionals. The services include
Annual Health check-ups for children;
Medical Room / Tele-infirmary;
School Emotional/Mental Wellbeing
Services
(Nurturing
Schools
Program); and Health Education
with Workbooks (Standard 1st to
8th). Currently AddressHealth’s
services encompass ~ 200,000
children in over 200 schools in
Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad
& Pune The AddressHealth School
Health Program is based on WHO
guidelines for schools.
but rising rapidly in the schools
catering to higher income groups
and primary and secondary school
children. There is an increasing
trend of the risk of lifestyle
diseases, due to reduced physical
activity, which is reflected in the
significant percentage of children
with a higher than recommended
waist-to-height ratio.
Obesity is seen across income groups
The number of children covered
by the surveys over the last 12
months include 1,04,105 children
in Bengaluru, 652 in Delhi, 18,422
in Hyderabad, and 3,288 in
Pune. The prevalence of various
conditions across these four cities
is as follows: obese as per BMI for
age standards (8.8%), over-weight
but not obese (12.6%), low BMI
(8.5%), risk of lifestyle diseases
[Waist/Height Ratio>0.5] (14.6%),
vision problems (14.6%), and
dental caries (29.7%). About 219
and 9101 children are at risk of
potential heart defects and clinical
anemia, respectively.
AddressHealth
has
conducted
surveys in 177 schools covering
1,26,467 children across 4 Indian
cities including Bengaluru, and data
points to similar trends across cities
with a high likelihood of chronic
diseases in adulthood.
schools and parents/guardians
should place adequate emphasis
on children’s health and well-
being, beyond the usual vaccines
and episodes of sickness, failing
which non-communicable diseases
will only become more common
in the younger generation. The
times are changing, and new age
problems need to be addressed
proactively
and
continuously.
The data from our mental health
program also suggests a moderate
risk of mental health conditions
amongst school children such as
emotional difficulties, behavioural
issues and lack of social skills”.
“Schools are not just centers for
imparting formal education but also
institutions that influence values,
beliefs and importantly practices. A
healthy lifestyle including hygiene
habits must be inculcated during
childhood. These positive behaviors
will last through to adulthood
and for the rest of a person’s life.
Children are naturally inquisitive
and keen learners. They can thus
become both the beneficiaries and
the agents of change in the family,”
added Dr. Lakshman.