FOOD PREFERENCES AND PREVALENCE OF OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY IN CHILDREN AGED 6- 12 YEARS IN PUDUCHERRY-A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in developing countries.It often leads to adult obesity and cardiovascular complications. The rise of childhood obesity has placed the health of an entire generation at risk. Unhealthy food practices are one of the important contributing factors for the rising prevalence of obesity apart from sedentary lifestyle and other factors. Food preferences in early life determine the health during adulthood.With the advent of telecommunication and the influence of mass media food preferences in children is becoming biased. Advertisements are known to influence food choices of children. There is a paucity of studies on obesity and food preferences in 6- 12 year age group in India. Also, studies on food preference during childhood and comparison of food preferences among obese and non-obese children are lacking. A focus on early childhood feeding is a foundation for lifelong health and wellbeing. Hence there is a necessity to study the food preferences among children for us to devise interventional measures directed at prevention of obesity in the coming days.