Childhood diseases | The kids aren't alright

Forever hunched over screens, city children in India are falling prey to 'adult' diseases. The solutions? A return to the outdoors, healthier eating and enough sleep

ISSUE DATE: Jun 22, 2026

Ritu Malhotra's heart breaks every time her 12-year-old son Aarav (name changed) trudges back home after football practice instead of hanging out with his friends are ordering burgers. Aarav was diagnosed with Grade 1 fatty liver disease—the initial stage of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, a complication associated largely with adults. Aarav must thus avoid oily food, and his 42-year-old Delhi-based banker mother finds tough to explain why a child his age must say 'no' to social situations built around food.

In many urban Indian homes, there is a preponderance of illnesses that are assailing children between the ages of five and 12. “Compared to 10–15 years ago, we are seeing far more children with asthma, obesity, allergies, digestive problems and even physical manifestations of stress,” says Dr Chirag Tandon, director, internal medicine, ShardaCare-Healthcity in Greater Noida. “It means reduced quality of health starts from a younger age now.” The villains of the series playing out in every other home are a sedentary lifestyle, gorging on junk food, reduced time spent outdoors, increasing screentime, lack of sleep....

Dispiriting data from medical studies show the extent of the harm. In May, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) launched a national study to define baseline health parameters for Indian children and adolescents—a sign that chronic disease in the young is no longer being treated as a niche concern. According to the Indian Journal of Community Medicine (2025), overweight prevalence among Indian schoolchildren now ranges between 10 per cent and 30 per cent in several urban areas. A 2023 meta-analysis in the journal Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health estimated childhood obesity prevalence at 8.4 per cent nationally, with higher rates in cities. Studies in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology (2022) and International Journal of Medical and Pharmaceutical Research (2025) suggest NAFLD is present in 3–10 per cent of children and rising sharply. Asthma prevalence among children was estimated at 7.9 per cent in a 2022 study published in Lung India.

THE INDOOR CHILD

At the root of many sicknesses, say experts, is limited exposure to the rough-and-tumble of playgrounds. Childhoods are now spent in air-conditioned rooms, much of it spent while poring over small screens.

Research increasingly suggests that these shifts matter biologically. A 2026 study in the International Journal of Medical and Pharmaceutical Research linked excessive screen exposure with sleep disturbances in urban schoolchildren. Screen dependence fills the vacuum left behind by shrinking outdoor life. “From obesity and constipation to behavioural problems, we see multiple health issues linked to excessive screen exposure,” says Dr Deepak Ugra, senior consultant paediatrics at Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai.

However, doctors say the larger issue goes beyond screens. “The body is not designed to be kept away from the outside world—it is designed to be in active, ongoing conversation with it,” says Dr Shreya Dubey, consultant child specialist, obstetrics & gynaecology, CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram. She points to evidence linking reduced microbial exposure in childhood with rising allergies and inflammatory disorders in urban populations.

The limited time many children spend out of doors, they are smothered by poisonous traffic emissions and dust. A 2025 study in Lung India identified pollution exposure as a major asthma trigger. “Air pollution, poor ventilation, passive smoking and increasingly sedentary indoor living are major contributors to asthma, allergies, repeated respiratory infections and poor lung growth in city children,” says Dr Ravi Malik, medical director, Malik Radix Healthcare, New Delhi. Rohan Mehta, 12, from Mumbai, developed wheezing and allergies after the pandemic years pushed much of his routine online. His father Sandeep admits the loss of outdoor time. “Everything became indoor—school, socialising, even exercise videos,” he says.

For many urban children in India, days begin early and stretch late into the evening through school, coaching and extracurriculars, often leaving little time to unwind. The resultant poor sleep is being linked to obesity, emotional instability, stress eating and metabolic dysfunction. “Sleep erosion is perhaps the most underrated crisis in children’s health today,” says Dr Dubey. “Children getting poor sleep are being set up for long-term consequences in mental health, metabolism and cognitive function.”

The emotional atmosphere surrounding children has shifted too. “In most urban middle-class families, both parents are working, and children are often left in day care or under the supervision of hired help or extended family,” says Dr Ugra. What disappears is unstructured time—with parents, peers and even with themselves.“This can lead to stress, anxiety and insecurity.”

Food habits, meanwhile, have undergone a fundamental change. Ultra-processed snacks, sugary beverages and delivery food are now everyday indulgences, not treats, as they once were. “Many children eat fewer fresh fruits, vegetables and traditional homemade meals, which can weaken immunity,” says Dr (Col) Vijay Dutta, director, internal medicine & respiratory services, ISIC Multispeciality Hospital, New Delhi.

All the above, say doctors, result in an accumulation of small biological pressures acting simultaneously. “What worries us is the overall shift in children’s health—we are seeing more reflux, obesity, fatty liver and inflammatory conditions appearing together at younger ages,” says Dr Sufla Saxena, HOD, paediatric gastroenterology & hepatology, Manipal Hospital Dwarka, New Delhi.

For parents, this changing health landscape produces a constant state of vigilance. Fourteen-year-old Kiara Sethi’s school bag carries sanitiser wipes, probiotics, emergency medicines and a thermometer. Her mother Neha says recurring allergies and stomach infections pushed her into monitoring everything, from bowel movements to sleep cycles. “Every cough feels like the beginning of something serious,” she says.

Quick-fix medicine is another growing concern. “Many parents go overboard with supplements or antibiotics without medical advice, believing it will improve immunity,” says Dr Dutta. Given the situation, treatment options are expanding rapidly. For example, children with Type 2 diabetes and obesity are being treated through metabolic clinics, glucose monitoring and newer weight-management therapies. Likewise, severe asthma and eczema are being managed with high-precision biologic drugs that target specific parts of the immune system and allergy immunotherapy (that desensitises the immune system to allergens by gradual exposure) respectively. For doctors, the remedies are starkly simple.

Maladies that Blight Kids

Serious illnesses afflicting children aged 5-12, the reasons why and roads to recovery

SIMPLE SOLUTIONS

Across specialties, recommendations circle back to things modern urban life has eroded. “Avoiding junk food, limiting screen time, regular physical activity and socialising with peers are habits children need to relearn,” says Dr Saxena.

Outdoor activity remains a strong protective factor. “Biology builds resilience through exposure and variation, not through protection from them,” says Dr Dubey. A 2025 position statement in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity linked outdoor play with improved sleep and better mental health outcomes in children.

The emphasis is therefore towards rebuilding healthier biological rhythms. Sleep is now being reframed as a central pillar of childhood health. A 2025 study from Chennai, published in the British Medical Journal, found nearly 40 per cent of pre-schoolers studied had sleep disturbances linked to excessive screen use, with bedtime screen exposure increasing problems.

Dr Ugra has another piece of advice for modern parents. “Children need emotionally available parents, not just highly managed schedules—emotional security is as important to health as nutrition or exercise,” says Dr Ugra. Good health, say experts, depends as much on a mix of loving support, rest, play and routine as on medicine.

- Ends