In Goa, 15% of kids aged 10-19 have high cholesterol, highest in India: Govt data

Panaji: Goa has the highest proportion of adolescents with high LDL (bad cholesterol) compared to other states, according to the latest all-India report ‘Children in India, 2025’. The report states that in Goa, 15.3% of those in the age group 10-19 have high LDL, followed by Kerala with 14.9%, Sikkim with 13.2%, and Bengal with 12.3%.

Senior pediatrician and Indian Academy of Paediatrics national executive board member Dr Sushma Kirtani said this is very worrying and a change in lifestyle is the need of the hour. Out of 10 children and adolescents she sees at her OPD, at least 2-3 are overweight and obese. She said this is due to economic prosperity, rapid urbanisation and sedentary lifestyles.


“Home-cooked meals are not the staple anymore. Children are choosing fast food and ultra-processed foods which are cheaper and come in good packaging. These are high in sugar, salt, and saturated fats and nutritionally inappropriate. Children are also gorging on fast food without thinking about the consequences. That’s why we are seeing an early onset of chronic conditions — hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in a younger population,” she said.

High LDL is bad for children as it could lead to a gradual build-up of plaque on the artery walls, causing atherosclerosis and narrowing of arteries, which could lead to heart disease and stroke later in life. If early interventions are not initiated, this could develop into serious health complications. “Parents have to be very careful about what their children eat and focus on a balanced diet which is preferably made at home rather than depend on food outlets and processed foods,” she said.
The report also states that 6.6% of adolescents in Goa are classified as hypertensive.

Directorate of health services’ non-communicable disease cell nodal officer Dr Kedar Raikar said state govt, realising the problem, has been educating children in schools as well as teachers about lifestyle diseases like diabetes and hypertension and the importance of a healthy diet. Several activities are also being conducted across the state to encourage children to adopt healthy food habits, he said.

“Nutritional officers of the directorate of health services are visiting schools and creating awareness among school children with regards to the Eat Right Campaign on the ill effects of junk food and the importance of maintaining a balanced diet,” he told TOI, adding that the focus is also on getting the students to understand the need to exercise.

Dr Kirtani said one hour of exercise five days a week along with good sleep hygiene is essential. “Instead, we find adolescents eating dinner at 9pm, then watching Netflix till 1am, then ordering fast food on their phones. Fast food joints selling pizzas, etc, are also entering the interiors of Goa, luring teenagers. We find some parents indifferent or not interested when we tell them that their child’s BMI is high. The child is not an earning member of the family. They are ordering food through their parents’ accounts, who don’t realise the long-term complications of high cholesterol. Parental attitude needs to change. They need to realise that young people are dying of heart attacks across India,” she said.

Govt has been able to control infectious diseases through vaccination, and these are on the decline, but non-communicable diseases like obesity, cancer, diabetes, high cholesterol, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are on the rise, she said.