Often, we elders call children words like ‘fat’, ‘small elephant’ or ‘golu-molu’ without thinking. We think it’s just a joke, a loving name, what’s there to feel bad about? But the truth is that children do not take these words as a joke. For them, these words gradually become a blow to the heart.
Childhood obesity is not just visible excess weight on the body, but it has a deep impact on the child’s self-confidence, his thinking and his mental health. When a child is repeatedly criticized about his weight, he starts considering himself different and inferior to others. In school, friends tease him, he is chosen last in sports and sometimes even teachers unknowingly make such comments which hurt him deeply. Gradually the child starts moving away from people. He speaks less, laughs less and sometimes starts preferring to be alone.
The biggest thing is that children start believing about themselves only what they hear again and again. If he is told every day that he is ‘dull’ or ‘lazy’, then he starts considering himself to be like that. This breaks his confidence and sometimes he may become a victim of problems like depression or anxiety.
There can be many reasons for obesity, such as wrong eating habits, low physical activity, hormonal changes or family habits, but the solution is not to taunt or shame. Children need to understand rather than judge. They should be motivated for healthy lifestyle and sports or light physical activities, so that their self-confidence increases and they do not consider themselves inferior to others.f
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