Obesity - a hindrance to good health

Obesity is alarmingly on the rise in urban population and we need to be conscious about it. Children do not get adequate physical activities nowadays as most of the schools in Dhaka city do not have a playground. Therefore, today's urban children hardly get a chance for physical activity or exercise. To increase our physical activity (and decrease the amount of time we spend sitting), we need to have more movement in our daily life. Obesity is no more a problem merely in the developed countries. With proper diet and change in lifestyle, one can change one's weight and maintain it. Obese people at times feel marginalised in the society and they suffer from lack of confidence and acceptance. Many parents feed their children too much and think that more body weight is good for them. Those parents need to be aware of standard weight and height proportionate with the age of kid(s). Due to current urban lifestyle, we often take a rickshaw instead of walking. It should be the other way round. Besides, we should use stairways instead of elevator whenever possible and try to be as active as possible.

Rumana Sharmeen

Dhaka University