'Healthy lifestyle practices' to be part of school syllabus

Schoolchildren will soon have to study ‘healthy lifestyle practices’ as part of their curriculum, according to Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers H N Ananth Kumar.

Speaking after inaugurating the Stop Diabetes Movement (SDM) - Youth Conclave, organised by the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana University (S-VYASA) here on Sunday, he said that Madhya Pradesh government had already launched a similar project on pilot basis.

The project would be extended across the country on the basis of the results, he added.
“It is difficult to build a healthy society unless students are sensitised to healthy practices,” the minister said.

Holistic approach
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, J P Nadda, said that it had been proposed to set up integrated schools of medicine across the country to develop a holistic method for treating various diseases.

“Integrated schools of medicine will provide holistic treatment to diabetes patients, besides consultation and training in preventive measures,” he added.

Nadda added that non-communicable diseases have been claiming the lives of more than six crore people annually.

“The alarming fact is that today’s youth and children are disconnected from playgrounds. Instead, they are addicted to video games which in turn affect the quality of life," he said.
Expressing concern over the increasing number of diabetes patients in the country, he said that India was next to China in terms of diabetes patients.