Venkaiah Naidu calls for national campaign to promote healthy lifestyle

The World Health Organisation data has attributed 61 per cent of all deaths in the country to NCDs like cancer, diabetes and blood pressure, he noted.

Hyderabad: The Vice President, M Venkaiah Naidu called upon the people, particularly the youth, to adopt a healthy lifestyle and avoid sedentary living and junk food in view of the growing incidence of non-communicable diseases in the country.

Addressing the scientists during a visit to the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) on Saturday, he said that a few years ago, WHO data has attributed 61 per cent of all deaths in India to NCDs like heart disorders, cancer and diabetes.

The Vice President stressed the need to promote organic farming, revisit our traditional food habits and promote the consumption of protein-rich food for better health outcomes. Cautioning against the fad for instant food, he quipped “instant food means constant disease”.

Referring to the burden of genetic diseases, Naidu asked the scientists to develop simpler and cost-effective methods for diagnosis of various genetic diseases to help in better patient management. He lauded CDFD for identifying novel genetic mutations for more than 10 disorders in India, including the identification of four new genes, which would be helpful in genetic counseling and management of diseases.

Rare genetic disorders form a major group of NCDs, he said and added that an estimated 350 million people were suffering from rare diseases worldwide and about 70 million (one in 20) in India.

Appreciating the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) for promoting genome-based public health research and for asking CDFD to take-up a major research program on Pediatric Rare Genetic Disorders, Naidu said the programme would contribute positively towards the Government of India’s Sustainable Development Goals regarding human health and mitigate the societal burden of genetic diseases.

Home Minister, Mohd. Mahmood Ali, CDFD Director, Dr. K. Thangaraj, senior officials from the Department of Biotechnology, scientists, research scholars and staff were present on the occasion.

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