72% of kids of construction workers overweight; study blames it on junk food

Contrary to popular perception that the children of construction workers are largely malnourished, a study by the Institute for Socio-Economic Change (ISEC) found that 71.8% of such children were overweight. Yes, indicating excessive consumption of junk and processed foods.

A study on the nutritional and educational status of children of migrant construction workers, which surveyed 277 children from all over Bangalore, also observed 11.2% of children with stunting.

Stunting refers to chronic undernutrition, but the high incidence of overweight challenges existing notions that malnutrition is always used in conjunction with undernutrition, the paper notes. doing.

Overweight children are said to face the double burden of malnutrition, indicating that working parents are largely unaware of the negative effects of such foods.

“Many workers know they need to send their children to school and to Anganwadi, but are less aware of their nutritional requirements. He said he would get chips, biscuits, and other ready-made foods when he asked for,” said Dr. Chennama Kamber, one of the authors of a paper published by ISEC based on the survey.

These children could face medical complications in the future if the practices are not corrected. “The double burden of malnutrition can lead to a range of medical conditions, from cognitive underdevelopment in children to the development of type 2 diabetes,” said Malini Tantri, Ph.D., a co-author of the paper. .

Cumber said there needs to be more awareness within the group to prevent situations like this.

Nutritional status was determined based on anthropometric measurements emphasizing height for age, weight for height, and weight for age.

The survey revealed that 98% of workers were not registered with the Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Association and were unaware of most of the government benefits available to them.

“In areas where construction workers registered with BOCW, it was mainly due to subsequent support by NGOs. Even they say they can’t fully reap the benefits,” Cumber explained.

“The lack of awareness needs to be addressed immediately to improve working and living conditions for construction workers,” the paper suggests.

It is estimated that more than 15 million people from different states across the country migrate to Karnataka, especially Bangalore, each year in search of employment opportunities.

What they eat:

*Chips
*biscuits
* Side dish
* bread and bread
*snack