India is said to be a land of paradoxes. Nowhere is that more evident than in the fact that while India has one of the highest child malnutrition rates in the world, a recent World Health Organization study found that its child obesity rate, counting children and adolescents in the 5-19 years age group, is a staggering 22%. This surpasses even the US where obesity is a big problem – US child obesity estimates run between 17.5% and 20.5%.

Could a perverse reverse psychology be at work here? Could it be that, precisely because India is a land so deeply marked by food scarcity, that its cultural orientation is to shower food on one’s children as the principal means of showing affection on the part of those who can afford to? Rather than, say, take one’s children to the park or find some other form of entertainment that involves exercise? Be that as it may, another culprit is certainly the explosion of ready to eat packaged and junk foods with excess saturated fats, as well as sugary drinks, in both homes and schools.

High obesity levels can severely impact the health and level of educational achievement of children. Obese children have a high incidence of diabetes and heart disease. Obesity can also negatively impact their ability to take up productive employment in the long term. This calls for immediate measures to spread awareness about the need for a healthy diet and being more physically active at home and in schools. School canteens can do their bit to educate children by banning junk food and promoting healthy menu options. India may run the largest midday school meal programme in the world to tackle high malnutrition levels, but it’s time to ramp up its anti-child obesity efforts as well.