Karnataka - Gulbarga   

`Adolescents should be imparted sex education'

Special Correspondent

`Drug abuse is on the increase among them'

GULBARGA: H.F. Yogappannavar, physician, has stressed the need for creating awareness among adolescents about basic health and sex education. He welcomed the move to include the topic of basic health in the school curriculum.

He was delivering the late K.C. Memorial Lecture on "Problem of Adolescence" under the Vaidya Vignyana Tarangani Lecture Series 2006, organised by the District Kannada Vaidya Sahitya Parishat, Basaveshwara Teaching and General Hospital, Mahadevappa Rampure Medical College and VG Women's College here on Wednesday.

Dr. Yogappannavar said that everybody, especially adolescents, should imbibe the concept of "prevention is better than cure."

During adolescence, the transition period between 11 and 19 years, the body undergoes physical, mental, hormonal and behavioural changes. They should be imparted sex education at this stage.

More than one crore people in India were afflicted with HIV disease and majority of them had contracted the disease owing to lack of knowledge about the ways to prevent it. Lack of awareness had also led to the spread of Hepatitis B, he said.

Dr. Yogappanavar said drug abuse was also on the increase among adolescents.

A recent survey said that nearly 60 per cent of them in the four metros were victims of drug abuse.

Dr. Yogappannavar said adolescents should be provided proper guidance by the elderly. Principal of VG Women's College C.C. Patil presided over the function.

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