The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Programme drives home obesity impact on health

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Nov 24, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Programme drives home obesity impact on health

Staff Reporter

Students told to eat at least two fruits a day

CHENNAI : To commemorate the Anti-Obesity Day, which falls on November 26, a programme was held at Presidency Girls Higher Secondary School, Egmore, to create awareness of the negative impact of obesity on a child's health.

The chief guest was Commissioner of Police, Greater Chennai, Letika Saran.

Dr Jayashree Gopal, consultant endocrinologist and diabetologist, Apollo Hospitals, and headmistress Vasantha Balaksrishnan addressed the gathering.

LifeScan, a division of Johnson and Johnson Medical India, organised the event and arranged a free screening of the Body Mass Index (BMI) of the students. Students who were found to have a BMI outside the acceptable range were screened for obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, blood pressure and so on. Students of Standard VI to VII participated in the programme (355 girls).

Dr Gopal advised students to eat at least two fruits a day, and three helpings of vegetables, to get the necessary fibre content for the body. She said there are three stages in a girl's life when she is prone to put on weight, at the age of 13 or 14, after childbirth and after menopause.

She said that one has to act now to prevent obesity from becoming a serious problem at the age of 30-40. "One spoon of sugar everyday will result in two-kg weight gain in a year... You must reduce your sugar consumption; it is found in aereated drinks and other packeted snacks," she said. She also said that for each person, one or two tablespoons of oil are sufficient for the day.

Ms. Saran stressed the importance of financial independence for women. She said that she eats sprouted green gram. Her colleagues used to make fun of her,but she maintained that it has made her strong. Students said they had games as a lesson only once a week. She told them they should do exercise for at least half an hour every day.

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