Non-communicable diseases high among schoolchildren
by Ananda KANNANGARA
The Ayurveda Department of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) is of
the view that over 80 percent of schoolchildren who seek Ayurveda
treatments from the CMC health units have high blood pressure, diabetes,
arthritis, kidney troubles and high cholesterol levels due to
environmental pollution.
CMC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Padmashanthi Weeratunga told the Sunday
Observer that in addition to environmental pollution, excessive stress
and consumption of fast food by children are also the reasons for
children suffering from such non-communicable diseases.
She said parents and elders should pay close attention to the health
condition of children and steps should be taken to refer them to health
units at the first sign of trouble.
She said children like fast food, but parents should discourage them
from having fast food all the time.
It is the duty of parents to discourage them from consuming fast
foods, considering health issues.
Dr. Weeratunga said as an interim measure, to reduce the percentage
of children falling victims to these non-communicable diseases, medical
teams comprising physicians, pharmacists and nurses have been deployed
to visit homes, especially in shanties and slums where children live
under unhygienic conditions.
She also paid attention to young schoolchildren being engaged in
numerous activities for longer periods even under unhygienic conditions
and said that parents should keep a close tab on such situations.
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