MP govt to introduce lesson on lifestyle in school curriculum

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government will introduce a lesson on the importance of correct lifestyle in high school textbooks from the next academic session. The move aims at making the young generation aware of killer diseases like diabetes, hypertension and cardiac problems. The recommendation was made by Union minister for petroleum and chemicals Ananth Kumar at a workshop on Echocardiography held here on Sunday.
Accepting the suggestion made by Ananth Kumar, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that schools will teach correct lifestyle lessons from the academic session of 2015. Ananth Kumar also asked to start a pharmaceutical park for manufacturing of disposals, generics and medical devices like echocardiogram machine which is imported from USA and Germany. Chouhan assured to come up with a pharmaceutical park.
Addressing the 6th International Echocardiography Course and Workshop, Ananth Kumar said that cardiac ailments and diabetes are 'cousins' as both are lifestyle diseases. "There are eight crore diabetes patients in the country making us the diabetes capital. The disease is on a rampage and juvenile diabetes is commonly reported," Ananth Kumar said.
"The younger generations should be taught the importance of physical exercise, playing outdoors and yoga," he added.
He claimed that children these days get up from sleep at 11 am, sit glued to ipad and computer games and stay awake watching television till 3 in the morning. "In India, 350 persons die of heart attack each day and 20% of these numbers are patients below the age of 30. "I think the time has come to start teaching about lifestyle and its connection to diseases like cardiovascular ailments, diabetes and blood pressure from high school," he said.
Ananth Kumar added that during a recent presentation on pharmaceuticals before Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was revealed that the country manufactures 95% of medical disposables and 15% of implants but don't manufacture medical devices and machines which are imported. Union minister suggested for establishment of a pharmaceutical park in Madhya Pradesh.