Better living: ‘Unhealthy lifestyles cause hypertension’

PMC students would soon launch a free blood pressure, hepatitis, and diabetes screening camp for students

FAISALABAD: Unhealthy lifestyles, junk food and lack of physical activity are some of the factors that contribute to developing hypertension.

This was stated by Pakistan Hypertension League, Faisalabad chapter president Dr Ahmad Bilal on Tuesday during his lecture at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. The session was chaired by UAF Vice Chancellor Iqrar Ahmad Khan.

Bilal announced that the Punjab Medical College students would soon launch a free blood pressure, hepatitis, and diabetes screening camp for students and university employees. “Most people are careless about their eating habits, exercise and other preventive measures. This makes them more prone to becoming a hypertension or diabetes patient,” he said.

He said that an average person should at least walk 6,000 steps every day. “If one makes a habit of walking at least 10,000 steps daily, it will significantly decrease his chances of developing any cardiovascular heart disease. Now a days, android phones have become a powerful personal tool to monitor their indoor or outdoor exercise routines,” he said.

Bilal said that for males, an ideal waistline was 35 inches or less. “Women should start taking exercise if their waist is above 31 inches,” he said.

He said that fizzy drinks were a major cause of obesity. “In an average sodawater bottle, there are 8 to 16 spoons of sugar,” he said. Bilal said that smoking increased the risk of cancer and hypertension.

Bilal said there was high incidence of hepatitis in Samundri and Faisalabad areas. “Worldwide, 2.5 per cent of the population is affected by hepatitis virus. However, the ratio is at 7 per cent in Pakistan,” he said.

He said that getting a shave at a barber’s shop and frequent visits to beauty salons increased the risk of contracting hepatitis.

“A large number of people are Vitamin-D deficient in Pakistan,” he said.

Prof Ahmad said that basic nutritional facts should be made part of school curricula. “It is a matter of grave concern that in a country that produces millions of tonnes of wheat annually, a large number of children and women have nutritional deficiency,” he said.

He said that most people in Pakistan heavily depended on wheat for nutrition. “There is the need of food diversification.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2016.