Jharkhand needs nutritional security; BAU VC
Ranchi, 22 March 2021 (HS)Eminent diabetologist Dr Vinay Kumar Dhandhania has said that obesity is the mother of all diseases. About 20 percent of females and 19 percent males are suffering from this ailment. Consumption of high fat, high sugar and high salt diet are main reasons for diseases like BP, diabetes, stress, coronary problems, kidney dysfunction and joint pains which can be minimized by including regular exercise, yoga and cycling in the lifestyle.
He was addressing daylong workshop-cum-vocational training on ‘Prevention of lifestyle diseases: Role of food science and nutrition’ at Birsa Agricultural University (BAU) on Monday. The event was organized under the UGC-supported B.Voc programme in Human Nutrition and Dietetics being run by Department of Community Science. He further said the ideal weight of males should be their height in centimeter minus 100 while height in cm minus 105 for females. Balanced diet should contain 50% carbohydrate, 30% fat and 20% protein for proper nutrition. As per the study conducted by ICMR in 2017, about 11% population is suffering from prediabetes and 7.3% from diabetes. Exercise is not a part of the lifestyle of eight percent people, 93%% children eat packaged food and 68% children consume packaged sweetened beverages.
Every packaged food contains preservatives which causes several health hazards, he added. Children follow the lifestyle of parents therefore parents should set examples of healthy styles and avoid watching TV, using mobile or reading books/ newspapers while eating. Full concentration should be on chewing the food, its quantity, quality and taste. BAU Vice Chancellor Dr Onkar Nath Singh said India attained food self-sufficiency long back but nutritional security is very much required especially in Jharkhand.
A major section of rural population in Jharkhand is suffering from under-nutrition and malnutrition and ways and means need to be devised for their nutritional security with locally-available food sources. Dr Sanjay Mishra, chief dietician, Paras Hospital, Patna held that modernization and westernization of food habits were responsible for most of the ailments. Need of the hour was to stick to region-specific traditional food for higher nutrition, immunity and a better metabolic system.
