The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : "Healthy lifestyle keeps diabetes away"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 28, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

"Healthy lifestyle keeps diabetes away"

Special Correspondent

Indians are at greater risk than Europeans: experts Indians are at greater risk than Europeans: experts

LIFESTYLE MEDICINE: Edward Philips and Susan Parks from Harvard Medical School. — Photo: K. V. Srinivasan

CHENNAI: If you are planning to take up walking as an exercise to remain healthy after about 30 years, think again. Here is a group of lifestyle medicine practitioners who say the moment you begin to walk, you have to stay active and normal throughout your life.

Edward M. Philips and Susan Parks of Harvard Medical School are sure advocates of this concept.

Lifestyle medicine has evolved as a speciality to address the global pandemic of obesity, sedentary behaviour and the use of tobacco substances, says Dr. Philips, who is with HMS Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Lifestyle medicine is about promotion of a healthy lifestyle and behaviour. It is not only about getting people with weight, smoking or stress-related problems to change their lifestyles; it is also about getting people who are `not yet at risk' to take up walking for about half-an-hour every day.

"Indians have a greater risk of diabetes than Europeans. Studies show that the onset in Indians is about 10 years earlier than in the European groups," Dr.Philips says.

"We have to prevent it from happening, because it happens very quickly and the damage is great." The team is touring the country, orienting Indian doctors to Lifestyle medicine and coaching them to counsel patients to undertake better activity, lose weight, manage stress and stop using tobacco. They were in Chennai on Monday to speak to 40 doctors at a programme organised by the HMS along with Apollo Hospitals. "Doctors are busy treating the problems that result from poor lifestyle. We are training the doctors to coach their patients, because they have great access to high risk and low risk populations, they have the stature to command change and the knowledge to provide."

Dr. Parks, who is with the department of psychiatry, says that very small changes can be effected. Stress management can be handled with deep breathing or visualising oneself in a stress-free environment. "Psychologically, it will be a big help to them." And did they mention the diet? An intake of appropriate nutrition is crucial, says Dr. Philips.

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