KARACHI: An increased consumption of junk food and lack of physical activity are causing obesity and diabetes in a growing number of children these days. There is a need to ban sale of unhealthy food in schools and making ‘food labelling’ mandatory so parents know what their children are eating.

This was stated by Prof Jamal Raza, senior endocrinologist heading the National Institute of Child Health, while speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a symposium which concluded at a local hotel on Sunday.

Titled Paediatric endocrinology and diabetes, the two-day event is the first international event by the Society of Paediatric Endocrinology & Diabetes, Pakistan (SPED-P).

Asked about the prevalence of diabetes in children, Dr Raza said: “I get to see a large number of obese children at my clinic, many of whom are referred from other health facilities. These kids have poor eating habits and when their parents are inquired over it, they complain that the child doesn’t listen to them,” he said, indicating that a poor parent-child relationship had a role in the health problem.

Citing the WHO guidelines, he said that our children were far behind the organisation’s recommendation on the daily intake of fruits and vegetables — that is five servings (one serving is equal to one cup).

Two-day symposium on diabetes in children ends

“Rather, they are eating junk food — which is high in calories from sugar and fat but low in nutritional value — on a regular basis, increasing their vulnerability to obesity and chronic diseases like cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes. In addition, they hardly have any physical activity as they spend a lot of their time sitting in front of computers, TV or using mobile phones,” he explained.

About the signs of diabetes in children, he said that they included increase thirst and urination, hunger and weight loss. Often these symptoms were missed and diabetes was diagnosed when the child faced some form of medical complication.

Dr Raza strongly suggested that food on sale should be properly labelled with details about its ingredients and their levels of calories.

Mental retardation

An important subject discussed during the symposium was congenital hypothyroidism — a condition induced by iodine deficiency in which thyroid is underactive and produced insufficient amount of thyroid hormones.

An estimated 2,500 children, it was pointed out, were affected every year by this preventable disorder in Sindh. Its worldwide incidence ratio was 1:4000 whereas in Pakistan it’s 1:1000.

Most children born with this condition, according to experts, appear normal at birth but it could lead to permanent mental retardation, among other problems, if left untreated.

They called for making newborn thyroid testing mandatory after birth and making available investigation tools, laboratory tests as well as medicines required for diagnosis and management of endocrine diseases in children.

The participants were also briefed on the developments taking place in the field of paediatric endocrinology in different parts of the world and the opportunities available for Pakistani health professionals to learn from their counterparts.

The speakers included Prof Maria Craig of Asia Pacific Paediatric Endocrinology Society, Prof Margaret Zacchaarin of Global Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Prof Asma Deeb of Arab Society for Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes and Prof Sarah Ehtisham representing European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology.

Mobile App

Sharing the progress of SPED-P set up in 2015, Prof Taeed Butt said that the society realising the fact that there were very few endocrinologists in the country initiated training programmes for paediatricians and related healthcare professionals in this field and developed evidence-based local guidelines.

The society was promoting research and unifying all related centres to ensure a consistent management of endocrine disorders and diabetes, he noted.

Dr Gohar Rehman, president of the Pakistan Paediatric Association and the chief guest, appreciated SPED-P’s efforts in organising the event which, he said, would help local professionals develop international linkages and improve their skills.

During the course of the event, the participants were also informed about a mobile application developed to help physicians diagnose endocrine disorders and get the latest information on treatment options available in Pakistan, related centres as well as contact details of experts.

“We have also developed a SPED registry and a screening programme for congenital hypothyroidism. The latter would be launched across Sindh with the support of the government which has committed Rs168 million,” said Prof Jamal Raza.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2019