Hyderabad: Yoga helps beat stress, keep off NCDs says Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu

Hyderabad: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday called upon the people to regularly practise yoga and meditation and return to traditional food habits to beat the stress caused by modern lifestyles and also to stave off non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Virtually launching the Society of Coronary Surgeons in Hyderabad, he pointed out that the scientific community has concluded that inappropriate lifestyle is the major cause for the raise in the cardio-vascular diseases (CVD) incidence. "Yoga relieves one of stress and keeps diseases at bay.

Hence, Yoga must become part of everyone's daily routine," he added. Quoting WHO, Naidu said NCDs encompass a vast group of illnesses such as cardiovascular, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer and diabetes and contribute to around 41 million (71 per cent) of all the deaths globally and about 5.87 million (60 per cent) of all deaths in India.

Expressing his concern over the lack of modern and advanced healthcare facilities in most of the rural areas, the Vice-President urged the private sector to join hands with the government in taking latest healthcare diagnostic and treatment facilities to the rural areas at affordable cost through public-private partnerships. The Vice President urged the members of SCS to focus on the disease burden in the rural areas. He said that a majority of the people live in the rural areas and are equally exposed to the risk factors of cardio-vascular disease.

The Vice-President said that there was a huge need to step up insurance coverage. He lauded Ayushman Bharat, the flagship programme of the government of India, as a truly praiseworthy initiative that seeks to provide health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to over 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families.

Commending the selfless and remarkable service being rendered by the medical, paramedical and other healthcare personnel ever since the pandemic broke out, he expressed happiness that an indigenous vaccine would be launched soon.