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Wellness

Truck drivers at most risk of AIDS

Low awareness, not knowing that they are carrying the virus results in them infecting at least five others, say doctors.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It has been known for long that the most vulnerable-to-disease people in society are usually those who are out on the road for work. And when the disease is something as serious as HIV or AIDS, truck drivers are at the highest risk of infection.

The Mumbai-based Medscape India conducted an awareness interaction for truck drivers early this week, in which there were 75 participants. Says Dr Sunita Dube, Chairperson, Medscape India, “A large percentage of our truck drivers and their helpers are infected with AIDS and there is an urgent need to create awareness among this community to check the spread of the fatal disease. What we found was that most of the participants had only a faint idea of what the disease was, and how much at risk they were.”

Dr Rahul Mishra, HIV/ AIDS Consultant, Medscape India, adds, “As per our study, only two percent of them know the difference between the HIV and AIDS.” Medscape is currently running a ‘Zero AIDS among truck drivers’ initiative.

Dr Dube contends that the basic risk factor stems from truckers and their helpers having easy access to commercial sex workers. This, combined with the fact that several of them still do not use condoms, was leading to higher numbers of infection among this community. “There was a transporter who participated in the interaction, and who said that most truck drivers are not able to resist going to sex workers, because of long periods of abstinence,” Dr Dube says.

Another interesting trend among many truck drivers is that they find the idea of using condoms either amusing or appalling. “Most of them are not even aware that they are carrying the disease, and if afflicted, they may go for check ups for such symptoms as persistent cough, for example. Since the disease goes undetected till the final stages, the problem of undetected cases is compounded because one trucker may account for five more undetected HIV and AIDS cases, from route to spread. Hence, there is a need for compulsory periodic testing of truck drivers for HIV and AIDS, apart from providing free condoms at petrol pumps and dhabas.

“But some of them were open to the idea of carrying a condom kit the way one would carry a first aid box. Even their wives are not much aware of AIDS and how it can spread through unprotected sex, because there is not much anti-AIDS advertising happening on TV or radio throughout the year – it happens only when December 1 (World AIDS Day) approaches.”

(Picture courtesy AP. Picture used for representational purpose only.) 

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Wellness

Mumbai consumed 200 pc more sugar this Diwali

E-commerce site survey shows Mumbai bought up to 7 kg of sugar and stayed in more during the festive season.

Mumbai may have tried to have a quieter Diwali this year, but by no means did it have a healthier one, at least if we go by survey findings from e-commerce and shopping site EkStop.com. The site conducted a survey on its customer base (6,000+ sample size), which showed that Mumbai did not shy away from the season’s excesses.

The survey findings from the company are:

Home cleaning: ‘Cleaning out our homes is probably top priority before the festive season but in classic Mumbai style, we think of this about five minutes before we should be starting our cleaning! In the 10 days prior to Diwali, EkStop.com saw a massive 60 per cent jump in sales of cleaning agents such as Lizol, Harpic, Colin etc.’

Mumbai stayed in longer: ‘Delivery requests for time slots 12pm to 2pm and 5pm to 7pm increased by 30 per cent, compared to the usual 9 am to 11am and 8 pm to 10pm slots that working professionals tend to prefer.’

Sugar highs: ‘Mumbai’s sugar consumption spiked by a staggering 200 per cent from an average purchase of 2.5 kg to 7.5 kg this Diwali. This was coupled with a 60-80 per cent increase in besan and maida purchases.’

Eating healthy, too: ‘There was a 30 per cent spike in sales of healthy foods and snacks. EkStop’s ratio of Coke to Diet Coke sales is 15:1 in a typical month. This festive season, that ratio changed to 15:3.’

Bargain hunters: There was a 30 per cent increase in site traffic on EkStop.com during special discount periods. A Rs 29/kg sugar deal and a ‘Buy 1 Get 1’ promotions on certain products were a hit.

Gift packs: ‘On an average, Mumbaikars purchased four gift packs in the 10 days running up to Diwali.’

(Picture courtesy www.thehindu.com)

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Wellness

It’s going to be cold tonight

Tonight, temperatures will dip to 15 Degrees Celsius, much like last night. Cold wave in the North is to blame.
by The Diarist | thediarist@themetrognome.in

You’re not overreacting if you’re rummaging through your wardrobe, looking for your winter woollies. There’s a definite early winter-like nip in the air most days at sunrise and every day at sunset, this week.

In fact, temperatures tonight will continue on their low spiral from yesterday, and range from a maximum of 33 Degree Celsius to a more-than-cool 15 Degree Celsius. As per the Regional Meteorological Centre, Mumbai, “A severe cold wave condition would prevail in some parts of North Madhya Maharashtra, during the next one night.” This bulletin was issued at 1300 hours yesterday, but the Centre does not expect a major departure in these weather conditions for today. Monday, November 19, was the supposedly the coldest November day in the last 10 years.

As per the Centre, “Generally North Easterly to Easterly winds (will) prevail in the lower level over the (North Madhya Maharashtra) region.” These cold winds are reportedly a result of snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir; the chill there is being carried to the south of the country by winds.

So make sure to wrap up real good as the evening progresses. It’s going to be windy and the night will get progressively colder.

(Picture courtesy media.tcpalm.com)

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Wellness

Getting married? Exercise will help

If you’re getting married soon, you and your family need to fight rising stress. Do it with exercise and diet.
by The Diarist | thediarist@themetrognome.in

An Indian wedding is a grand affair. And a grand affair comes with its share of responsibilities, last-minute glitches, and a whole load of stress. Often, the couple to be married and their immediate families are under the most strain, which builds up till the actual day of the wedding. While the stress is inevitable, there’s no reason to not keep physically fit and mentally happy even as D-day draws near.

We caught up with fitness expert Sameer Sawant, who told us about a few tips and tricks to fight stress in the wedding season.

What should a person do to reduce/relieve themselves of stress during the wedding season?

When a person is feeling the stress, he or she can do a moderate intensity workout. Through this, a ‘feel good’ hormone (endorphin) is secreted by the human body, which lightens the person’s mood happy and helps to reduce stress. One should not do a high intensity activity, as it might exhaust him or her further and increase the stress level.

How can the parents of the couple reduce their stress?

The parents of couples can do exercises like stretching, or take up yoga sessions to release their stress. Also, a glass of fresh juice early in the morning will help them feel rejuvenated throughout the day as they help prepare for the wedding.

Are there any specific do-at-home exercises or breathing techniques?

Moderate intensity exercises such as jumping jacks, skipping, push-ups, squats, burpees and lunges are easy to do at home. They can also use therabands or resistance tubes for a home workout. Exercises like plank, Superman, cat camel, bridge and back extension on the floor should be done to increase core strength, since on the day of the wedding, they will have to stand for long hours – this needs a lot of core strength. They can also practice yoga, power yoga, tai chi and pilates, which will help them increase their mind and body awareness.

What are some interesting trends you have observed in Mumbai during the wedding season?

During the wedding season, there are many couples who join health clubs and gyms to get into shape quickly, but getting in shape is not a quick process and it takes a lot of time to get the BMR to a level where your body starts burning more calories to sustain the existing fat, muscles, organs and bones as compared to your calorie intake.

The trend which is most common is adopting a low carbohydrate diet, cutting out sugar from the diet, or going on a liquid diet, and most commonly, doing only cardiovascular training like running and cycling. People don’t concentrate on other elements of fitness like strength, flexibility, balance and core stability.

How can couples combat stress together?

An important tip for couples is that apart from vigorous workouts, couples should opt for simple

De-stress exercises like swimming, yoga and dancing. My ultimate tip, however, is to eat right, work out regularly and stay happy.

Sameer Sawant is a fitness expert specialising in functional training, martial art training and lifestyle management, among other things. He currently works with Fitness First.

(Picture courtesy www.madhvimad.wordpress.com)

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Wellness

Mallkhamb is great for you

Cheap, multi-effective and with amazing curative properties for the blind, mallkhamb is an all-body workout that heals the mind, too.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The evening is drawing to dusk, and Shivaji Park is beginning to slow down. Evening walkers are resting, talking, taking in the sight of other walkers stop as well. But in one corner of the park, a run-down building is buzzing with life. There are two wooden poles on which boys shimmy up and down. A few feet away, young girls snake up a stout rope suspended from the ceiling, holding the strangest of contortions for a few breathtaking seconds.

Away from the activity, Uday Deshpande, the chief mallkhamb coach at the Samarth Vyayam Mandir and the honorary general secretary of the Mallkhamb Federation of India, is at work in his tiny office. The Mandir was set up in 1929, and has trained scores of Indian and international sportspersons and yoga practitioners on its simple floors – teaching them mallkhamb, rope mallkhamb, kho kho and kabaddi as well.

But isn’t mallkhamb as difficult as it looks? “Of course it is,” Uday laughs (he’s been a practitioner since he was four!). “It’s simplicity lies in its degree of difficulty – it’s not just about climbing a pole and balancing on it. It takes every ounce of strength and concentration to perform the simplest of poses,” he explains.

The thing that ups the sport’s difficulty level is the fact that mallkhamb is an aerial sport. “A person’s fear complex increases the higher up he goes from the ground, and this is excellent for increasing focus,” Uday explains. “It takes a special ability to climb the pole against gravity or hold one’s body in a rope.”

Interestingly, the sport has several curative properties for the visually-challenged. “I teach at three blind schools in the city, and the results of mallkhamb on these children are fantastic. Since they are visually-impaired, they are conditioned to be careful, to not do anything without assistance. This makes them inactive and leads to a host of health issues.” He says that after practicing mallkhamb, which they can do without assistance, their concentration goes up, and their appetites improve.

“Several of my blind students later told me that they had started doing better in their studies after taking up mallkhamb,” Uday says. “Everybody should take it up – it costs next to nothing to set up (you just need to invest in a pole with a stand), and it offers a full-body workout like no other sport can. We prefer that people start learning it when they’re very young, but at our Mandir, we have even an 81-year-old man coming to learn!”

A heartening development is that slum children from Dadar and nearby areas are enthusiastic learners of the sport.

What’s so special, really?

Mallkhamb originated in Maharashtra in the 19th century, during the reign of the Peshwas. Interestingly, a mallkhamb contingent represented India in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, wowing Herr Hitler himself. Currently, 29 Indian states participate in mallkhamb competitions at the national level.

(Picture courtesy Samarth Vyayam Mandir)

Categories
Wellness

Fat. So?

Obesity causes serious disorders, and goes beyond weight issues alone. Here’s how you can get out of the fat trap.
by Dr Jayashree Todkar

Part II

In the previous part, I mentioned my patient Priyanka Gupta (name changed), a 28-year-old suffering from severe emotional and physical troubles due to her obese condition, which had further wrecked havoc with her menstrual cycle and caused acute hirsuitness. She hadn’t had a regular period in a decade, and she had had to wax her facial hair every alternate day. Besides, she had to keep her face covered once she stepped out of her house.

I recommended that she undergo bariatric surgery to correct her condition. She decided to do it after a couple of visits, and she recuperated from the operation for two days. After this, she got back to her routine. But about two months after the surgery, she called me excitedly and said, “Dr Todkar, today for the first time in 10 years, I got my period without taking any medicines!” Elated that her body was indeed coming back to normal, she went on to say that her facial hair growth had also reduced, and that she needed to wax just once a week. She is doing very well now; her earlier problems have all but disappeared.

A surprising disease

Several people who come to me for treatment are surprised to discover that they have diabetes, or pre-diabetic symptoms. Also, apart from the embarrassment of having excess weight, young obese people, especially, struggle with sexual disorders – there is little to no desire for sex, their sexual performance is low, and on the other end of the scale, there may be infertility, a few cancers, the development of opposite-sex characteristics, and so on. The disease can cause severe inferiority complexes, cause trouble in personal relationships, and it is a major cause of depression among the youth.

While men’s testosterone levels may dip, women may struggle to conceive naturally, and even an IVF-assisted pregnancy may not carry for the full term. Several pregnant obese women develop gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and other factors that lead to miscarriages.

The cure

– Accept that obesity is a disease, and should be treated like one. Being in denial will only delay the treatment process.

– Understand that the disorders you are suffering from – PCOS, PCOD, respiratory problems, diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea – may not be isolated incidents, but may be linked to obesity.

– Consult a good surgeon to explore options to improve metabolism, and this includes bariatric surgery. Do this before you make exercise and diet plans. Some obese people’s metabolism is better than others, so they lose weight in the gym while others don’t. Once your metabolism is corrected, all exercise and diet efforts will yield better results.

– Discipline and diet are key to good recovery and maintaining good health after treatment. Once your health begins to improve, other things fall into place one by one – your looks will improve, your self-confidence will rise, you will want to rebuild your social life, and your performance in all spheres will improve.

– Above all, don’t lose hope. Seek a scientific solution to the problem, and don’t feel victimised by your condition. There are fantastic solutions available to treat obesity, you just have to seek help before it is too late.

Dr Jayashree Todkar is visiting bariatric and laparoscopic surgeon, and Director of Obesity and Diabetes Care Center, Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital, Powai. She holds the distinction of being the first female bariatric surgeon in India.  

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