The foundation of good health and sound mind is laid during the
childhood and adolescence period. According to World Health Organization
(WHO, 2011) "adolescence, the period of transition from childhood to
adulthood, is crucial in the life of human beings". WHO (2015) identifies
adolescents as young people between the ages of 10 and 19 years.
Adolescent growth reflects on the adult size and the productivity of the
future nation. Adolescents need special care, support and counselling.
India's future is in the hands of adolescents and depends on their health,
potential and contributions.
Being home to 243 million individuals in the age group 10 to 19
years, as reported by the WHO (2017), India has the largest population of
adolescents in the world. But the raising epidemic of overweight and
obesity greatly affects our adolescents. The number of obese children and
adolescents (aged 5 to 19 years) worldwide has risen tenfold in the past
four decades, from 11 million in 1975 to 124 million in 2016. An
additional 213 million added to overweight population in 2016, but fell
below the threshold of obesity. If post-2000 trends continue, more
children and adolescents will be obese by 2022 (WHO, 2017). Observing
this trend worldwide, the WHO (1998) designated obesity as a global
