51% BEST staffers obese, says study

15% of 3,211 School kids Surveyed Overweight

 

Mumbai: The BEST men who handle the bus service in the city appear to be cruising along the highway to obesity, or so suggests a recent health survey carried out by KEM Hospital. According to results of the three-day survey, which was completed on February 10, 51% of the BEST employees who were surveyed at the Colaba, Wadala & Mumbai Central bus depots were obese.
    Mumbai’s schoolchildren fared little better, with a survey by Nair Hospital in the same period showing that 15% of 3,211 students surveyed were overweight. About 6% of these students belonging to 11 schools, including Balmohan Vidyamandir English Medium (Dadar), Shardashram English High School (Dadar) and the BMC school in Tardeo, were obese.
    Moreover, the majority of the students—all in the 12 to 16 age group— preferred sitting in front of the computer or TV instead of taking up a physical activity.
    However, BEST GM Uttam Khobragade said that the numbers were not any more than the percentage of overweight persons in society. “We wanted our men to realise that they were not in the best of shape. Hence, we agreed to participate in the survey,’’ he added.
    Around 27% of the 1,000 BEST men surveyed were suffering from diabetes while 18% had high cholesterol levels in their blood, said the survey, which was conducted by students of KEM Hospital as part of the Piramal Healthcare’s ‘help your body’ campaign.
    Meanwhile, Nair Hospital students who conducted a similar health campaign among city’s schoolchildren found high levels of obesity as well as yearning for junk food.
    “Over 15% were overweight and another 6.6% were obese,’’ said the Nair Hospital survey.
    The survey also found that 82% of the students who ate out in their lunch break opted for junk food such as like samosa, vadapav, burger, pizza, etc. Around 41 % gorged on pani-puri at least twice a week at roadside joints and 78% ate chips daily.
    According to Dr Rahul Shewale of Nair Hospital, “We were startled to find the number of children who ate junk food. If this dietary pattern is not changed, then we are staring at an obesity wave.’’
    While KEM Hospital doctors introduced BEST men to yoga as a means to stay fit, the Nair Hospital doctors have suggested a balanced diet, rich in fibre and nutrition, to children from these 11 schools.