Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, a disease hitherto found mostly in alcoholics is now increasing been seen in kids. In the USA, 22% of kids and 50% of overweight kids have NAFLD. My guess, in urban India it will be similar. Surprisingly, this disease was nowhere to be seen in kids in the 1980s and 1990s. What changed?
Sugar (in many avatars), food processing, supermarkets, and marketing. We gave our kids fruit juice instead of fruits. We fed them cornflakes (processed sugar) instead of poha. We served them bread instead of parathas. We started shopping more at supermarkets. Our kids ate anything that has their favorite cartoon characters. Parents fell for buy-one-get-one free. There are no free lunches. And our kids are paying the price.
