Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday called for a national campaign to motivate people to adopt healthy lifestyles, sedentary lives and avoid junk food amid the increasing incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country.
World Health Organization data has attributed 61 percent of all deaths in the country to noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and blood pressure.
“We must campaign for a massive national campaign to change lifestyle. Also eating habits. Our ancestors, who have lived for thousands of years, have given us wonderful food. What is missing in India? All varieties … for all seasons with all Reasons, “said Naidu during his address at the Center for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) here.
Sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits are linked to the increased incidence of NCDs in the country, he added. Naidu claimed that 98 percent of the rural population is unaffected by Covid-19 because of a healthy lifestyle and a life close to nature.
When he found that nature was kind to India in the form of abundant sunlight and air, he regretted that they were not exploited, which led to the appearance of various diseases.
He urged scientists to make people aware of healthy choices. The Vice President also highlighted the need to promote organic farming, rethink our traditional eating habits and encourage the consumption of high protein foods for better health outcomes.
He warned of the instant food fad and quipped, “Instant food means constant illness.”
Naidu, who opened the Laboratory for Rare Genetic Disorders in Children at the CDFD, urged the scientists to continue working to develop simpler and cheaper methods of diagnosing various genetic diseases to enable better patient management.
He commended CDFD scientists for identifying novel genetic mutations for more than 10 diseases in India, including identifying four new genes that would be useful in genetic counseling and treatment of diseases.
He called on the CDFD to use the media to raise awareness of the services offered on genetic diseases.
Regarding the unprecedented challenges humanity is facing following the Covid-19 pandemic, he commended the CDFD’s Corona Warriors for accurately diagnosing the viral infection.
He highlighted the problem of increased crime rates around the world and commended CDFD for providing a state-of-the-art DNA fingerprinting service to the courts, judiciary, National Investigative Service (NIA) and the CBI for ensuring correct judgment in criminal cases and for providing relief to the families of disaster victims .
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This story was published by a wire agency feed with no changes to the text.
