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Hi friends, today I would like to share about an essay is importance of health. Let us discuss in detail. prepare well thank you friends.
Essay:- Health is wealth
“Health”
as described by “World Health Organisation” is a state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity. It is amusing to note that though one billion people in the world
are chronically hungry, another one billion are overweight. This describes the
economic inequality and the unconcerned attitude about health prevailing in the
world.
Underweight and overweight are terms defined
as less than 18.5 and more than 25 BMI respectively. The poor and developing
countries of Asia, Africa and South America are the main victim of underweight.
Overweight people can be found throughout the world, though more in the developed
countries. Both are precursors and progenitors of many health issues.
Underweight results in low stamina and a weak immune system. It affects women
and children more acutely and can result in amenorrhea, infertility and
complication during pregnancy in women and osteoporosis and increased mortality
rates among children. Being overweight may cause heart disease, increased
cholesterol level, high BP etc.
According to Govt of India report, a grown up
man requires minimum of 2400 kcal and
2100 kcal in rural and urban areas respectively and the average calorie of
Indians is much less than stipulated numbers. Though the above figure only
provide for energy requirements of a healthy body, lack of minerals and
vitamins in our diet are important concerns as well. This causes malnutrition and
contributes to malnutrition.
A recently published Hungama (acronym for
Hunger and Malnutrition) Report by Nandi foundation says that 42% of Indians
are malnourished and 91% mothers have never heard the term “malnutrition”. An
recent statement by chief minister of Gujarat claiming the deplorable status of
health parameters to be enhancement of the wealth and economy proves the short sightedness
our leaders have towards the health system. These figure point to the
deplorable health condition in our country.
On the other hand, obesity (which is extreme
form of overweight) is another problem
being faced by the general population. The increasing propensity towards fast
food and unhealthy diet habits are major cause of deteriorating health
conditions among youth. Mc Donald, Pizza Hut and Dominos are becoming household
names in India.
Though the affluent are spending hundreds of
rupees for a pizza and burger in air-conditioned restaurants, the poor are
unable to meet daily energy requirements. Consumerism is on the rise. Branded
food is in vogue.
The social indicators like Maternal Moratlity
Rate, Infant Mortality Rate etc.. are on decline. One of the major reasons is malnutrition. Though the
govt. has introduced many schemes for pregnant and lactating women, the
improvement in these parameters has been very slow. Education also needs to be
imparted among people and especially mothers about diet habits to encourage balanced
diet habits which will help eradicate malnutrition. Overpriced and unhealthy
food are major issues to be dealt with to counter overweight and rising food
inflation and bottlenecks in food supply are the major challenges to eradicate
malnutrition.
The hunger deaths in the country are on the
rise and millions of tons of grain are
rotting due to lack of proper storage facilities. Lack of food is another area
to be improved. Our production is not increasing according to the growing
demands owing to increase in population. Another green revolution is needed to
meet the growing demand of food. This may include the use of Genetically
modified crops, mechanization and best cultivation practices being used in the
world. Also food inflation needs to be monitored and kept in check. Even if
food is available, inflation cuts down on the purchasing power of the general
masses.
The recent easing of food inflation is good
news. Bottlenecks also arise due to transportation within states and between
states. A comprehensive policy is needed to counter the loss and unavailability
of food due to inter and intra state transportation of food supply. Wastage of
food inspite of heavy production is
another major problem. MSMEs should be encouraged to produce packaged food to
preserve food and be used in off seasons.
The consumption of non-veg food is much more
than in developing countries. Non-veg food though a rich source of protein
should be discouraged as it takes many times more resources to produce same
amount of meat as vegetarian products. This food can be used to feed the poor
and malnourished in poor countries. But such an arrangement seems improbable
and is much sought for.
Another major area of concern is on the decreasing
area under agriculture. With increasing population, the stress on limited land
resource is increasing. Controlling population has to be a major policy among
the developing nations. Use of scarce land resources to produce biodiesel has
using plants like zatropha and corn has also decreased the fertility of soil.
Also it decreases effective area under food production.
The recent decrease in poverty as indicated by
NSSO has been a major relief for the govt. But it has been criticized on the
basis of parameters to determine the BPL line. Rs 26 per person is in no way an
indicator to affluence. To counter this, the govt. has recently passed Food and
Security Act, which will provide wheat, rice and pulses at 1 Rs/kg, 2 Rs/kg and
3 Rs/kg respectively. This scheme envisages an outreach to around 70% of Indian
population. This may prove to be a boon for the poor of our country. But many
important issues like availability of grains to be supplied, storage and effect
on fiscal deficit and economy remains to be major impediment.
A healthy body is home to a healthy mind. It
can be easily seen among the developed nations. The health parameters in these
countries are much better than the developing countries. The percentage of
students going to colleges is much more in developed countries than in
developing countries. Better health will decrease resources on medical
facilities thereby freeing resources for educational and economic development. Also,
expenditures on security need to be pruned to increase the outlay on poverty
alleviation programs. Friendly relations with our neighbours will go a long way
in decreasing our defence expenditure and free resources to provide better
economic status to our people.
Though there is a vast
economic gap between the developed and developing countries, there is no reason
to believe that health indicators can be improved. Countries like Bangladesh and
Bhutan has shown that HDI can be increased inspite of developing economy.
Eliminating economic disparity between nations can be achieved by bringing
about development in health indicators. As an old adage goes “Health is
Wealth”.
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