Children in cities losing height edge over rural kids
1 min read 23 Jun 2023, 11:50 PM ISTThe study revealed that BMI differences between urban and rural children are diminishing.
PremiumChildren living in urban areas no longer have a height advantage over those from rural areas, according to a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Research on the body mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents (5-19 years) between 1990-2020 highlighted the complexity of factors influencing children’s health globally.
The study revealed that BMI differences between urban and rural children are diminishing. This indicated declining benefits of urban living for growth and development over the last 30 years in most regions across the world. The trend has now been published in the latest issue of Nature journal.
“We have analysed the global data among the international group NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)," Dr Himanshu Chaturvedi, director general at ICMR-NIMS, one of the authors of the paper, said. The study showed that low height and excessively low BMI increases the risk of morbidity and mortality, and low height impairs cognitive development and reduces educational performance and productivity in later life. A high BMI in these ages increases the lifelong risk of obesity and several non-communicable diseases, and might contribute to poor educational outcomes.
“The objective of this study was to understand the changes in the growth and development of children worldwide that happened in the last few decades," he added. Over the years, people are at risk of physical work at diminished levels and health complications.
The trends in South Asia would apply to India, he said. It showed that BMI of children and adolescents increased more in rural areas than in urban cities, leading to a closing of urban–rural difference.
Researchers from three ICMR institutes—National Institute of Medical Statistics, (NIMS), National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR)—evaluated data from 2,325 studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants in 200 countries.
ICMR said there is a need to implement policies and programmes that improve growth and development outcomes in children. Poverty, inflation, lack of nutrient-rich food, and changes from the covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine may hinder further gains or even set back healthy growth and development in children.
