Fatty snacks & fat teens

URBAN adolescents and young adults are digging into unwholesome, imbalanced food that contains too much fat of the unhealthy kind.

This has been revealed in a study conducted among school and college students in Delhi by scientists from the National Diabetes, Obesity and Cholesterol Disorders Foundation ( NDOCDF) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences ( AIIMS).

The findings explain the reason for rising obesity among urban adolescents, the scientists say. The study has been published in the Journal of American College of Nutrition . The study was carried out among 1,236 adolescents and young adults in the 14-25 years age-group from 40 schools and colleges. The students were asked what food they had eaten during the two days preceding the survey.

Their height, weight, waistline and body fat were measured.''The intake of fat was found higher than the recommended levels in all the participants. They were consuming four times the fat than required,'' Dr Priyali Shah from NDOCDF said. Consumption of harmful saturated fat and omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids was high among the students. But consumption of the healthy omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, or omega 3 PUFA, was low. This is because a large part of the fat consumed was derived from semi-solid oil and cooking oil heated to high temperatures.

Both are used in the preparation of favourite snacks of students such as burgers, pastries patties, samosa and chhola bhatura.'' The students are in the habit of snacking. They study for an hour and then snack on biscuits and namkeen. They were also consuming ice creams and sugary items such as colas,'' Shah said.
The intake of carbohydrates and proteins was, however, found to be within the prescribed limit.
Fat takes more time to get digested and gets deposited in the body, leading to obesity which results in hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.

Obesity and insulin resistance is now being reported often among Asian adolescents.
''This may explain the higher prevalence of obesity and abdomen fat deposit in the Asian adolescent,'' Dr Anoop Misra, lead scientist and director at Fortis Hospital's department of diabetes and metabolic diseases, said.
Reduction of intake of harmful saturated fat can be achieved by lowering consumption of fried food. Consumption of healthy omega 3 PUFA can be achieved by having fish, tofu, soyabeans, canola, almonds, flaxseed and their oils, the study suggested.
Mungo beans, consumed as urad dal, are rich in PUFA. Consumption of canola oil, olive oil or a mixture of mustard and groundnut oil may ensure a healthy balance of fat, the scientists said.
Misra said the study indicated a shift in the diet of teens from traditionally high carbohydrate meals to Westernised high fat food.

THE STUDY

Carried out among 1,236 students in 14-25 age-group from 40 Delhi schools and colleges by scientists from the NDOCDF & AIIMS The participants were asked to detail the food they had eaten during the two days preceding the survey. Their height, weight, waistline and body fat were measured

THE FINDINGS

All young adults were consuming four times the fat than was recommended daily Consumption of harmful saturated fat and omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids was high Consumption of healthy omega 3 fatty acids was low A large part of the fat consumed was derived from semi-solid oil and cooking oils heated to high temperatures Intake of carbohydrates and proteins was found to be within the required limit