Premature aging of kids sets alarms ringing
India’s medical fraternity may take pride in improved life expectancy, but the spurt in lifestyle diseases, especially among children, has resulted in premature aging.
CHENNAI: Toddlers with greying hair, an eight-year-old with high blood cholesterol, a pre-adolescent who has the physique of a 20-year-old - the signs are ominous. Biological clocks in children are ticking rapidly, and are the rate at which their organs are aging is faster than their chronological age.
The country's medical fraternity may take pride in improved life expectancy, but the spurt in lifestyle diseases, especially among children, has resulted in premature aging. This means that the increased life expectancy doesn't necessarily translate into improved quality of life.
"Every organ in the human body has an age. When a child suffers from lifestyle diseases like cholesterol and diabetes, his or her organs take a beating. So, the functionality of an eight-year-old child's organs is that of a 30-year-old," said Dr Kousalya Nathan, a lifestyle and anti-aging consultant, who is undertaking a study on premature and adolescent aging.
The country's medical fraternity may take pride in improved life expectancy, but the spurt in lifestyle diseases, especially among children, has resulted in premature aging. This means that the increased life expectancy doesn't necessarily translate into improved quality of life.
"Every organ in the human body has an age. When a child suffers from lifestyle diseases like cholesterol and diabetes, his or her organs take a beating. So, the functionality of an eight-year-old child's organs is that of a 30-year-old," said Dr Kousalya Nathan, a lifestyle and anti-aging consultant, who is undertaking a study on premature and adolescent aging.
