Hyderabad: Children with low birth weight are at the risk of early onset of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Why? This is because by the time they grow up to be young adults, they might be obese in medical terms, said Dr K. Srinath Reddy, the founder of Population Foundation of India.Delivering the V. Ramalingaswamy Memorial Lecture on World Health Day at Bhaskara Auditorium, Birla Science Centre, Dr Reddy said, “The importance of maternal health indicators such as BMI and waist-to-height ratio are important in predicting health outcomes. While a high BMI can indicate obesity-related diseases, a normal BMI does not rule out underlying health conditions. Thus, waist-to-height ratio has emerged as a more reliable measure, with a ratio higher than 0.5 signaling potential health risks,” he said. Explaining how children born with low birth weight end up being ‘obese’, he said that the body becomes habituated to sharing nutrition only to the brain and nervous system for survival. As a result, other organs and muscles in the body do not get adequate nutrition and with less metabolism, begin to store fat, especially around the belly. “The various abdominal organs and the heart shrink to a much smaller size. Muscles become insulin resistant. As a result, these children become diabetic and may have cardiovascular diseases earlier than others,” he explained. He also discussed the impact of environmental factors, including maternal tobacco consumption and air pollution, on the health of the newborn. Dr Reddy highlighted the rising prevalence of childhood obesity, driven by increased consumption of ultra-processed foods, sedentary lifestyles, and reduced physical activity due to digital device usage. The event was organised by Telangana Academy of Sciences, featuring a series of thought-provoking addresses on public health and maternal care. Addressing the gathering, Dr B Sesikiran, former director of the National Institute of Nutrition, highlighted how we often take for granted that nature will sustain pregnancy, but the science behind microbial transmission is far more complex and essential. “Bacteria are not just agents of disease; they are fundamental to life,” he explained, noting that the human body contains more bacterial DNA than cellular DNA. He emphasised the gut’s role as the “second brain,” illustrating how microbial interactions with the immune system shape health outcomes. According to Dr Sesikiran, about 70 per cent of the body’s immunity resides in the gastrointestinal tract. He elaborated on how microbial transmission occurs during vaginal birth, which is critical for establishing a newborn’s immune defences. In contrast, babies born through cesarean sections miss out on this natural transfer, making them more susceptible to infections and long-term health issues. Evita Fernandez pointed out the alarming rise in cesarean sections and the increasing medicalisation of childbirth, which often comes at the expense of dignity, privacy, and emotional well-being. “Physiological birth is becoming rare,” she remarked, stressing the psychological impact of birth trauma where women often feel powerless, especially when denied companionship during labour.
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