Health is wealth and the Government has every right to have a concern over its people’s health. The recent drive and the initiative taken by the State Government is a step in the right direction. As we have over 60% people below 35 years of age, it is the utmost duty of the Government to ask them to undergo health check. The school children suffer the most as the office going parents offer money to their wards and allow them to eat junk food prepared outside.
To eliminate the risk of people falling into the trap depending on junk food all the three times in a day, the government should take initiative to have quality mid-day meals for children and subsidised food as provided in Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu. Instead of just considering the levying fat tax option, it is time to implement it without any hesitation. Already awareness has been created through documentaries and other announcements through social media to prevent outside eating. Even newspapers should also bring out the ill effects of eating outside and the ways and means to avoid going for junk food and to teach them about the importance of eating healthy food.
Stressful jobs claims life of human beings or else cause obesity, sugar problem, blood pressure and chain of other ailments even for young professionals. It is time to think about routine exercise instead of just putting blame on stressful work alone. If there is a will there is a way also.
Passion is that emotion which gives you the strength to survive the tribulations of life and continue to aim for the ultimate goal you’ve set for yourself. A life without passion is a life wasted. Passion need not be necessarily big—it can be something as complicated as wanting to land on the moon to something as simple as reading. In this spectrum, office work falls somewhere in the middle.
Every day, we notice at least one ‘all-rounder’ who huffs and puffs to climb that one floor to their home or that one flight of stairs to the platform. But, that, is not seen as a sign of being unhealthy—the panting is attributed to stress, those few extra pounds are characterised as a ‘sign of the wealthy’.
Let’s look at the reasons we would normally cook up when explaining our inability or unwillingness to exercise. These include:-
- Financial constraints—a gym is too expensive
· I just don’t have the time
· I’m fit—I don’t need to exercise
· Exercise is for the old to keep themselves fit
· I get enough exercise climbing the stairs at my work
· There’s no good gymnasium around my place
This list can go on and on…But the truth is, human life will not. Why is it that the average life expectancy in the US is 86 while it’s somewhere around the 70s in India? The reason being, we are not paying enough attention to fitness regimes. Heart diseases, diabetes, arthritis and so many other diseases strike those who are unfit and obese. Not just that, exercise boosts immunity and can keep many diseases at bay—including the recent and deadly H1N1.
While some may argue that healthy living is possible even without hitting a gym, we need to dwell on the practicality of such arguments. Unlike the US, we do not have special cycling lanes; our offices are not equipped with lockers and shower-rooms that we can freshen up after walking or cycling our way to work. Also, the Indian weather does not permit exercise all year around—the summers are bad, rainy season has its own woes, and the winter is practically non-existent. Such scenarios don’t leave much scope for exercise. This is where a gym can make a difference…by providing a conducive environment for fitness.
I strongly believe that every individual has the right to healthy living. Healthy living is not a privilege, but a right. Sadly, however in our country, healthy it is more like a right of a pocket of people who are able and willing to pay for it. It is time to make fitness the part of every Indian’s lifestyle. To provide easy access to superior quality, affordable fitness regime that will be an integral part of every Indian.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
