HEALTH

Counselling can help heart patients
From Surbhi Bhalla

LUDHIANA, Sept 4 — Coronary heart disease is emerging as a major health problem in the city. This is mostly because of the lifestyle and food habits of the people here.

A study in this regard was conducted by Navdeep Sandhu under the guidance of Dr Inderjeet Singh, Head of the Department of Foods and Nutrition in Punjab Agricultural University. It says that coronary heard disease is mostly caused due to the nature and quantity of the fat consumed. Saturated fatty acids, cholesterol and calorie intake, nature of the carbohydrates consumed, salt and alcohol consumption, stressful lifestyle and lack of phsyical activity cause the disease.

Under the study, Businessmen of the town suffering from the CHD were counselled on the aspects of the disease related to diet and lifestyle. The patients were made to attend lectures for four months at two-week intervals. These patients used to visit OPDs in various local hospitals and nursing homes.

Counselling made them change their food habits and methods of cooking. Most of these patients showed positive signs of having quit smoking and alcohol consumption. They learnt simple relaxation techniques and walked regularly. They also began to eat little, but at regular intervals. Many of the non-vegetarian patients switched over to eating white meat and egg.

They significantly increased their consumption of cereals, green leafy vegetables, fruits and skimmed milk. They also reduced the intake of vanaspati, junk foods and beverages. Percentage of energy contribution by carbohydrates had increased from 60.58 to 70.54 and that by proteins from 12.12 to 13.75. After the counselling, patients showed improvement in weight loss, mid-upper-arm circumference, skin-fold thickness of triceps, waist and hip ration, blood pressure, blood glucose and lipid profile.

It has proved that personalised, intensive and long-term interaction with subjects can decrease the risk of the disease.

The study has also shown that changes in diet and lifestyle should precede medical treatment. Drugs help in controlling the risk factors, but changes in diet and lifestyle minimise the need for medical intervention.

ADMINISTRATION

Tandon inaugurates MC website
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Sept 4 — The Municipal Corporation has achieved a distinction of becoming the first civic body in the state to have its own website which was formally inaugurated by the Punjab Minister for Local Bodies, Mr Balramji Das Tandon, here. Mr N.K. Arora, Principal Secretary, Local Government, Mr J.B.Goyal, Director Local Bodies, the city Mayor Mr Apinder Singh Grewal, the MC Commissioner, Dr S.S.Sandhu, and other senior civic officers were present.

Mr Tandon congratulated the MC administration for the computerisation of the day to day working and expressed confidence that, in addition to easier access to the MC records and cutting down wasteful expenditure, the visiting public would also be saved from visiting the offices repeatedly to get their work done. Moreover, the move would help in bringing transparency in the administration.

Giving details, Dr Sandhu told Ludhiana Tribune that the website (www.ludhianacorp.com) would provide detailed information on history, achievements, industry, parks, hotels, historical places, shopping centres and main commercial centres in the city. It would also have comprehensive information on contact numbers of senior MC officials, octroi rates, ongoing development projects and other development works, to be taken up in near future, besides complete information of the tenders invited for MC works.

The web site, which at the moment was partially on-line, would go fully on-line in the near future when the city people would have access to information related to their properties like water rate and sewerage bills, house tax. The residents would also be able to lodge complaints, make suggestions and also make payments of their civic dues.

The MC Additional Commissioner, Mr S.K.Sharma, who had played a vital role in seeing the project of computerisation and the website through, came in for a special mention by the minister at this occasion.