KARACHI: Highlighting the health risks children face from junk food, senior paediatricians at the conclusion of a conference at a local hotel criticised parents for offering food loaded with unhealthy fats to children at a very young age, emphasising that this trend is contributing to host of health problems in them.

They were speaking on the final day of the annual national conference, titled “Bridging Gaps, Building Futures: Equity and Access in Paediatric Care”, which was organised by the Paediatric Association of Pakistan (PPA)-Sindh.

The event, aimed at providing a comprehensive academic platform for sharing updated knowledge, clinical experiences, and best practices in paediatric healthcare, brought together leading experts from across the country.

Speaking at the conference, Dr Waseem Jamalvi explained how children’s health was being seriously affected by factors that could easily be avoided.

“Today, it has become a common practice that mothers offer fried potatoes etc to their children, who haven’t yet completed the first year of their life,” said Dr Jamalvi, adding that high-calorie and low-nutrient food compromises children’s immunity, making them vulnerable to infections, especially those related to the gastrointestinal tract and throat.

Multiple infections, he pointed out, weaken the child’s immunity further.

“In such situations, doctors are forced to prescribe antibiotics. It’s not the medicines rather infections making the child weak and immunocompromised,” he said, stressing the need to scale up vaccination coverage.

The experts also pointed to a lack of breastfeeding practices that compromised the child’s immunity at a young age. Mother’s milk, they said, provided ideal nutrition to babies and contained important antibodies, which protected the child from infections.

They also emphasised that a child’s health was essentially linked to the mother’s health and, hence, it was important to create awareness and promote mother’s wellbeing.

In his remarks, Dr Saadullah Chachar said that PPA would continue to support government efforts in child health care and create public awareness to address gaps in child health delivery, particularly in resource-limited settings.

The conference’s scientific sessions focused on key child-health challenges, including preventive pediatrics, vaccination, nutrition, neonatal care, infectious diseases, and emerging trends in paediatric medicine.

It covered topics ranging from gastroenterology, nephrology, pulmonology, neurology, critical care, haem-oncology, endocrinology, infectious diseases, cardiology and neonatology.

Senior paediatricians and renowned speakers delivered lectures, led panel discussions, and conducted interactive sessions designed to enhance clinical skills and promote evidence-based practice.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2026