There is no doubt that “Health is wealth”. Health is not the mere absence of disease. It is a state of physical, mental, social, spiritual, environmental, and financial well-being. Healthy habits make a big difference in the achievement of health. People who adopt a healthy lifestyle especially from the very beginning live healthier, happier and longer lives than those with unhealthy lifestyles such as unbalanced poor diet, inactive sedentary habits, obesity, smoking, drinking and other intoxicants are more likely to die prematurely from obesity, heart problems, stroke, diabetes complications, cancers and other diseases.
Also Read: India Is Home To The World’s Most Wasted Children, As Per The Global Hunger Index 2020
What Is A Healthy Lifestyle?
Prevention is better than cure. A healthy lifestyle includes:
1. Healthy diet
2. Healthy physical activity
3. Healthy (normal range) body weight
4. Adequate restful sleep
5. No indulgence in smoking drinking or substance abuse
Whenever we talk of planning anything, our thoughts go to the foundation which must be strong and so we must have a strong foundation lasting a century. The foundation of good health is laid in the womb of the pregnant mother and the mother must be provided good healthy nutrition and a stress-free environment. The First 1000 days of life (270 days in the womb of the mother and two years after birth) are most crucial and must be given cognizance. Optimum feeding which means exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life and continued breastfeeding with homemade nutritious food from the family pot up to two years or even beyond is the mantra for laying the healthy foundation.
Nutrition is the most important aspect of a healthy lifestyle and will be considered in some detail. “Healthy mind in healthy body” or “You are what you eat” are true aphorisms even today.
Junk Foods And Health
Fast foods are designed for ever-ready availability, use, or consumption with hardly any consideration for healthy qualities. Junk foods are unhealthy foods that may be deficient in proteins, vitamins, minerals dietary fiber and loaded with high fats, salts and sugars, and calories (HFSS is WHO term), harmful additives, preservatives, and coloring agents. These foods (packaged or not) are well known to cause obesity and non-communicable diseases.
Also Read: Opinion: Benefits Of Breastfeeding For Mother And Child And How We Can Promote And Support It
Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) has specially coined a new term (acronym) JUNCS (quite resembling the old term junk) with a very expressive and inclusive meaning:
J: Junk foods
U: Ultra-processed foods
N: Nutritionally inappropriate foods
C: Caffeinated, colored, carbonated foods and beverages
S: Sugar-sweetened beverages.
Why Junk Foods Are Becoming Popular?
Many factors especially, it is now fashionable for the youth of today to eat out and to show it off. Fast urbanisation, burgeoning middle class, both parents working, wrong role model parents, always willing to eat out as a family, nuclear families lacking care of the grandparents increase in the number of working moms, youth and adolescents inclined to experiment and media influence.
Also Read: Opinion: Importance Of Maternal Nutrition And Its Inter-generational Impact
Healthy Living: How To Avoid JUNCS
- Parents or caretakers should never offer junk food as a reward or gift to the children.
- Don’t opt for junk food more than once a week or at least reduce the quantity.
- Don’t watch TV or mobile phone when eating food.
- Eliminate trans-fats and reduce free sugars to less than 5 per cent of the total calories.
- Freshly cooked home food with minimal addition of sugar, salt and saturated fats.
- Energy drinks are not intended for children and adolescents and not recommended before and after strenuous activity.
- Water should be the main drink for quenching the thirst.
- No fruit juices recommended before one year of age. Encourage intake of local or regional fruits.
- Coffee should be completely restricted until five years of life.
Also Read: Opinion: Thinking Beyond The First 1000 Days Of Life For Maternal And Child Nutrition
What Is Healthy Eating?
It practically means avoiding fast fatty foods like pizzas, pasta, burgers, fries and other junk foods, and sugar-sweetened drinks as these are rich in calories, fats, sodium, preservatives, and additives. Ensure a balanced diet by including all groups of food like cereals, pulses, roots, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, tubers, milk and milk products, eggs or meat in moderation and oils, fats, sugars sparingly and anything that provides us the required nutrients for every day. Please ensure three meals a day – breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But breakfast is most important; it should be eaten like a king and not taken hurriedly. Try never missing the breakfast.
Any homemade food lovingly prepared with self-selected fresh and natural ingredients with all the nutrients in a loving company is the best. Avoid nagging discussions while enjoying the family or friendly mealtimes. No screen watching while enjoying meals. Let, us, all promote a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating through health education and literacy in the community. Governments should also ensure the manufacture and sale of healthy foods.
Also Read: Opinion: Childhood Obesity – One Of The Major Public Health Challenges Of The 21st Century
About the author: Dr. V. K. Ahuja, Past President, Breastfeeding Promotion Network Of India, Sangrur. Dr. Ahuja is also the Past Vice President of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP), Punjab.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.
World
India
State & District Details
State | Cases | Active | Recovered | Deaths |
---|---|---|---|---|
DistrictCases Mumbai45,478 Thane13,660 Pune9,920 Mumbai Suburban5,363 Aurangabad1,974 Nashik1,575 Raigad1,462 Palghar1,421 Solapur1,291 Jalgaon1,039 Akola757 Nagpur692 Kolhapur646 Satara629 Ratnagiri350 Amravati291 Dhule228 Hingoli208 Jalna201 Ahmednagar190 Nanded176 Yavatmal150 Sangli145 Latur139 Osmanabad125 Sindhudurg114 Buldhana88 Parbhani78 gondia69 Beed54 Nandurbar42 Gadchiroli42 Bhandara41 Chandrapur32 Washim13 Wardha11 | 19,87,678 2,910 | 53,163 181 | 18,84,127 3,039 | 50,388 52 |
DistrictCases Udupi1,176 Kalaburagi669 Yadgir538 Bengaluru Urban529 Raichur369 Mandya346 Belagavi337 Bidar219 Hassan205 Davangere204 Vijayapura201 Dakshina Kannada179 Chikkaballapura149 Mysuru107 Bagalkote103 Uttara Kannada95 Shivamogga67 Dharwad61 Ballari60 Gadag45 Bengaluru Rural40 Tumakuru36 Kolar29 Haveri24 Chikkamagaluru19 Chitradurga14 Koppal5 Kodagu4 Ramanagara3 Chamarajanagara0 | 9,31,252 584 | 8,713 96 | 9,10,377 676 | 12,162 4 |
DistrictCases Kurnool795 Krishna557 Guntur511 Anantapur428 East Godavari356 Chittoor319 Sri Potti Sriramulu Nell*296 Y.S.R.205 West Godavari199 Srikakulam183 Prakasam104 Visakhapatnam103 Vizianagaram23 | 8,85,824 114 | 1,987 212 | 8,76,698 326 | 7,139 |
DistrictCases Kannur357 Kasaragod333 Palakkad224 Malappuram119 Kollam118 Thrissur106 Thiruvananthapuram104 Pathanamthitta98 Kozhikode90 Alappuzha76 Kottayam73 Ernakulam60 Idukki40 Wayanad36 | 8,42,843 5,960 | 68,633 922 | 7,70,768 5,011 | 3,442 27 |
DistrictCases Chennai23,324 Chengalpattu1,314 Thiruvallur774 Villupuram509 Kanchipuram503 Tiruvannamalai496 Cuddalore477 Ariyalur444 Tirunelveli433 Tuticorin333 Kallakurichi324 Madurai322 Salem258 Coimbatore188 Virudhunagar185 Dindigul175 Perambalur133 Ranipet133 Thanjavur130 Theni129 Tiruchirappalli119 Ramanathapuram119 Tiruppur116 Kanniyakumari110 Tenkasi103 Nagapattinam99 Karur88 Namakkal83 Erode75 Vellore71 Thiruvarur67 Pudukkottai53 Sivaganga46 Tirupathur45 Krishnagiri43 The Nilgiris17 Dharmapuri15 | 8,30,183 610 | 6,128 171 | 8,11,798 775 | 12,257 6 |
DistrictCases North West5,463 Central4,817 West4,768 New Delhi3,405 North3,059 East2,472 South East2,446 South West2,391 South2,329 North East1,914 Shahdara1,580 | 6,32,183 299 | 2,691 104 | 6,18,754 397 | 10,738 6 |
DistrictCases Gautam Buddha Nagar1,119 Agra933 Ghaziabad794 Meerut504 Lucknow386 Saharanpur298 Kanpur Nagar286 Moradabad252 Varanasi243 Hapur225 Aligarh215 Basti214 Amethi206 Rampur203 Jaunpur194 Firozabad190 Barabanki168 Gorakhpur166 Bulandshahr166 Siddharth Nagar159 Ghazipur159 Bijnor157 Deoria143 Azamgarh138 Sant Kabeer Nagar132 Mathura129 Ayodhya120 Muzaffarnagar117 Sambhal116 Sultanpur97 Ambedkar Nagar92 Maharajganj85 Amroha80 Rae Bareli78 Bahraich73 Kheri72 Kannauj69 Baghpat68 Kushi Nagar67 Bhadohi60 Ballia60 Gonda59 Etah52 Hardoi49 Balrampur49 Mau48 Mainpuri46 Etawah46 Hathras43 Unnao42 Jalaun41 Jhansi41 Shamli40 Chandauli38 Auraiya37 Farrukhabad36 Sitapur32 Prayagraj30 Banda27 Shahjahanpur25 Shravasti23 Budaun23 Mirzapur22 Bareilly17 Kasganj16 Pratapgarh15 Pilibhit15 Sonbhadra10 Kaushambi6 Kanpur Dehat4 Chitrakoot4 Lalitpur3 Hamirpur3 Mahoba3 Fatehpur3 | 5,96,137 523 | 9,162 419 | 5,78,405 930 | 8,570 12 |
DistrictCases Kolkata2,777 Howrah1,435 24 Paraganas North1,031 Hooghly604 24 Paraganas South281 Maldah235 Dinajpur Uttar216 Coochbehar210 Birbhum206 Medinipur West159 Medinipur East153 Nadia139 Purba Bardhaman130 Murshidabad125 Bankura116 Darjeeling97 Jalpaiguri88 Paschim Bardhaman70 Purulia66 Dinajpur Dakshin50 Alipurduar39 Kalimpong18 Jhargram9 | 5,64,707 609 | 7,151 72 | 5,47,515 666 | 10,041 15 |
DistrictCases Ganjam581 Jajapur322 Khordha238 Baleshwar190 Kendrapara164 Cuttack155 Bhadrak137 Balangir129 Puri103 Sundargarh102 Jagatsinghapur91 Nayagarh86 Mayurbhanj73 Nuapada69 Gajapati61 Dhenkanal36 Boudh34 Kendujhar34 Deogarh33 Kalahandi33 Sonepur29 Kandhamal28 Anugul26 Malkangiri20 Bargarh16 Koraput16 Sambalpur16 Jharsuguda8 Nabarangpur2 Rayagada2 | 3,33,127 178 | 1,910 53 | 3,29,318 230 | 1,899 1 |
DistrictCases Jaipur2,177 Jodhpur1,748 Udaipur724 Bharatpur563 Kota503 Nagaur500 Ajmer379 Dungarpur374 Pali352 Jhalawar329 Bhilwara250 Sikar231 Chittorgarh188 Tonk171 Jalore164 Rajsamand140 Sirohi130 Bikaner112 Banswara91 Alwar90 Churu81 Jhunjhunu64 Dausa61 Dholpur60 Baran59 Jaisalmer53 Barmer34 Hanumangarh31 SawaiMadhopur26 Karauli17 Pratapgarh14 Ganganagar8 Bundi5 | 3,14,920 238 | 5,286 322 | 3,06,888 558 | 2,746 2 |
DistrictCases Bilaspur100 Korba100 Mungeli87 Baloda Bazar85 Jashpur77 Janjgir-Champa56 Mahasamund54 Rajnandgaon52 Kabirdham52 Raigarh47 Raipur46 Balod41 Korea39 Durg31 Bemetara21 Kanker19 Balrampur17 Surguja14 Gariyaband10 Surajpur9 Dhamtari6 Bijapur2 Bastar2 Dantewada0 Kondagaon0 Narayanpur0 Sukma0 | 2,93,178 566 | 6,867 56 | 2,82,760 615 | 3,551 7 |
DistrictCases Hyderabad2,475 Ranga Reddy183 Suryapet87 Jagitial77 Nizamabad76 MedchalMalkajgiri75 Mancherial43 YadadriBhuvanagiri40 Jogulamba Gadwal40 Vikarabad40 Nalgonda33 Warangal Urban32 Mahabubnagar30 Sangareddy26 Khammam26 Adilabad22 Nirmal21 Karimnagar17 RajannaSircilla16 Medak11 Kamareddy11 Mahabubabad10 Jayashankar Bhupalapally9 Nagarkurnool8 Kumuram Bheem Asifabad8 Jangoan8 Siddipet7 Peddapalli5 Bhadradri Kothagudem5 Warangal Rural4 Mulugu3 Narayanpet3 Wanaparthy1 | 2,91,666 299 | 4,191 82 | 2,85,898 379 | 1,577 2 |
DistrictCases Gurugram2,950 Faridabad867 Sonipat404 Rohtak145 Palwal120 Jhajjar114 Karnal104 Hisar98 Ambala93 Panipat78 Nuh68 Bhiwani60 Rewari56 Kurukshetra55 Sirsa50 Kaithal48 Mahendragarh47 CharkiDadri43 Panchkula39 Fatehabad38 Jind38 Yamunanagar19 | 2,66,131 167 | 2,129 55 | 2,61,019 218 | 2,983 4 |
DistrictCases Patna279 Bhagalpur266 Rohtas256 Khagaria253 Begusarai243 Madhubani199 Munger188 Jehanabad178 Katihar175 Darbhanga143 Samastipur139 Siwan139 PurbiChamparan138 Purnia135 Banka134 Buxar134 Nalanda123 Gopalganj123 Nawada122 Sheikhpura118 Gaya115 Kaimur (bhabua)105 Bhojpur103 Saran101 Muzaffarpur96 Saharsa88 Supaul87 Vaishali87 Madhepura82 Kishanganj75 Aurangabad75 Sitamarhi73 Lakhisarai72 Araria68 Pashchim Champaran57 Arwal52 Jamui47 Sheohar20 | 2,57,474 281 | 4,046 66 | 2,51,975 343 | 1,453 4 |
DistrictCases Ahmadabad17,125 Surat2,311 Vadodara1,555 Gandhinagar410 Mahesana159 Banas Kantha147 Bhavnagar146 Rajkot135 Arvalli134 Mahisagar125 Anand107 PanchMahals107 Patan105 SabarKantha101 Kachchh99 Kheda98 Jamnagar63 Bharuch56 Botad55 Surendranagar55 Valsad47 GirSomnath45 Dohad43 Chhotaudepur37 Naysari35 Junagadh31 Narmada25 DevbhumiDwarka22 Amreli16 Porbandar11 Tapi6 Dang5 Morbi4 | 2,55,354 505 | 6,588 262 | 2,44,403 764 | 4,363 3 |
DistrictCases Indore3,839 Bhopal1,880 Ujjain799 Burhanpur351 Neemuch319 Jabalpur276 East Nimar266 Sagar228 Gwalior211 Khargone196 Dewas140 Dhar132 Mandsaur112 Morena109 Bhind87 Raisen71 Barwani60 Ratlam51 Rewa39 Shajapur39 Hoshangabad37 Vidisha37 Chhatarpur35 Betul35 Rajgarh31 Dindori29 Sheopur26 Damoh26 Satna24 Anuppur22 Panna20 Tikamgarh18 Sidhi17 Narsinghpur17 Chhindwara16 Agar Malwa15 Mandla15 Shivpuri15 Jhabua14 Shandol14 Singrauli13 Ashoknagar13 Datia12 Sehore12 Umaria10 Balaghat9 Guna8 Harda4 Alirajpur3 Katni3 Seoni2 Niwari0 | 2,51,223 365 | 6,524 433 | 2,40,948 793 | 3,751 5 |
DistrictCases Kamrup Metro276 Golaghat203 Nagaon143 Hojai89 Dima Hasao86 Karimganj85 Tinsukia84 Cachar80 Dibrugarh61 Hailakandi57 Lakhimpur57 Marigaon50 Dhemaji47 Kamrup42 Kokrajhar37 Dhubri30 Charaideo29 Barpeta28 Udalguri28 Sonitpur27 Jorhat24 Nalbari23 Darrang20 Sivasagar20 Goalpara19 Biswanath16 Baksa14 KarbiAnglong13 Bongaigaon12 Chirang6 West KarbiAnglong5 South SalmaraMancachar4 Majuli2 | 2,16,809 32 | 2,930 33 | 2,12,809 61 | 1,070 4 |
DistrictCases Amritsar485 Jalandhar297 Ludhiana293 Tarn Taran163 Gurdaspur154 Hoshiarpur140 S.A.S Nagar137 Patiala132 Sangrur107 Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr)99 Pathankot86 Rupnagar (Ropar)74 Faridkot74 Sri Muktsar Sahib71 Moga65 Bathinda60 Fatehgarh Sahib57 Fazilka53 Firozepur50 Kapurthala44 Mansa31 Barnala25 | 1,70,366 175 | 2,578 161 | 1,62,289 322 | 5,499 14 |
DistrictCases Anantnag395 Srinagar300 Kulgam295 Baramulla271 Shopian255 Kupwara231 Bandipora175 Udhampur155 Ramban151 Jammu138 Budgam110 Pulwama108 Kathua53 Rajouri39 Ganderbal37 Poonch35 Doda27 Reasi26 Samba25 Kishtwar10 Mirpur0 Muzaffarabad0 | 1,23,217 109 | 1,280 148 | 1,20,016 256 | 1,921 1 |
DistrictCases East Singhbum170 Ranchi148 Hazaribagh110 Garhwa80 Ramgarh75 Koderma58 Simdega48 Dhanbad32 Gumla28 Palamu27 West Singhbhum21 SaraikelaKharsawan20 Giridih19 Bokaro16 Latehar14 Khunti10 Lohardaga8 Deoghar5 Dumka5 Pakur4 Jamtara2 Godda2 Chatra1 Sahebganj0 | 1,17,599 119 | 1,249 40 | 1,15,300 158 | 1,050 1 |
DistrictCases Dehradun370 Nainital323 Tehri Garhwal110 Haridwar94 Udam Singh Nagar83 Almora71 Champawat45 Pithoragarh43 Chamoli36 PauriGarhwal36 Bageshwar31 Rudraprayag30 Uttar Kashi24 | 94,691 226 | 2,349 57 | 90,736 279 | 1,606 4 |
DistrictCases Hamirpur117 Kangra105 Una41 Solan32 Chamba29 Bilaspur21 Mandi21 Sirmaur11 Shimla10 Kullu4 Kinnaur2 Lahaul And Spiti0 | 56,873 71 | 755 12 | 55,154 82 | 964 1 |
DistrictCases South Goa69 North Goa57 | 52,345 83 | 877 11 | 50,712 69 | 756 3 |
DistrictCases Pondicherry111 Mahe4 Karaikal2 Yanam0 | 38,611 16 | 286 8 | 37,683 22 | 642 2 |
DistrictCases Dhalai196 Sepahijala174 Gomati74 South Tripura53 Unakoti49 West Tripura45 Khowai24 North Tripura14 | 33,331 2 | 38 3 | 32,902 5 | 391 |
DistrictCases Churachandpur32 Kangpokpi26 Imphal West21 Thoubal18 Imphal East10 Tengnoupal9 Bishnupur7 Senapati6 Chandel5 Kamjong5 Ukhrul4 Jiribam3 Pherzawl3 Kakching2 Tamenglong2 Noney1 | 28,835 24 | 380 56 | 28,089 79 | 366 1 |
DistrictCases Chandigarh313 | 20,503 39 | 238 28 | 19,935 67 | 330 |
DistrictCases Changlang31 Papum Pare8 Lohit3 Namsai2 West Siang1 East Siang1 Upper Siang1 Tawang1 PakkeKessang1 West Kameng0 Upper Subansiri0 Tirap0 Siang0 Shi Yomi0 Anjaw0 Lower Subansiri0 Lower Dibang Valley0 Longding0 Leparada0 KurungKumey0 KraDaadi0 Kamle0 East Kameng0 Dibang Valley0 Lower Siang0 | 16,808 6 | 62 2 | 16,690 8 | 56 |
DistrictCases East Khasi Hills22 West Garo Hills5 South West Garo Hills4 North Garo Hills1 West Jaintia Hills1 West Khasi Hills1 East Garo Hills0 East Jaintia Hills0 Ribhoi0 South Garo Hills0 South West Khasi Hills0 | 13,693 2 | 148 13 | 13,401 15 | 144 |
DistrictCases Dimapur20 Mon8 Kohima7 Kiphire3 Tuensang3 Peren2 Phek1 Longleng0 Mokokchung0 Wokha0 Zunheboto0 | 12,054 15 | 117 13 | 11,849 2 | 88 |
DistrictCases Kargil77 LehLadakh43 | 9,649 1 | 93 11 | 9,428 12 | 128 |
DistrictCases East District3 South District3 North District0 West District0 | 6,029 5 | 158 5 | 5,741 10 | 130 |
DistrictCases South Andamans33 Nicobars1 North And Middle Andaman1 | 4,982 3 | 25 3 | 4,895 | 62 |
DistrictCases Kolasib11 Aizawl10 Mamit8 Lawngtlai2 Lunglei2 Saitual1 Champhai0 Hnahthial0 Khawzawl0 Saiha0 Serchhip0 | 4,322 8 | 85 5 | 4,228 3 | 9 |
DistrictCases Dadra And Nagar Haveli20 | 3,388 | 9 0 | 3,377 | 2 |
DistrictCases Lakshadweep District0 | 0 | 0 0 | 0 | 0 |