Health issues in India
Kolkata may be India’s ‘City of Joy’, but pollution meant residents had little cause for happiness this November. Coverage surrounding India’s air pollution crisis often centres on Delhi. However, the national capital was not the most polluted city this month. This distinction fell to Kolkata, which recorded Air Quality Index (AQI) readings worse than those […]
Last December, an infectious disease hospital in Delhi exhausted its supply of medication for diphtheria. In the months that followed, it failed to replenish it. Multiple deaths ensued. Diphtheria is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Symptoms – onset of which typically occur two to seven days after infection – include fever, […]
Most Indian cities have become unliveable thanks to catastrophically high levels of air pollution across the country. While the toll this takes on public health is broadly understood, research has hitherto been lacking on the link between air pollution and shorter lifespans. A new study by researchers at the University of Texas has given a […]
The BJP government’s large-scale health insurance initiative was rolled out in some states today, to coincide with Independence Day celebrations across the country. Though some anticipated a full-scale launch of the programme, the scheme was not launched nationwide but began a gradual rollout in select states. Full rollout of the scheme is expected on September […]
Salt intake is too high in India, the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) has warned. Is this leading to a crisis of high blood pressure? A PHFI study has found consumption of the foodstuff in three Indian states exceeds the level recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), which says you should eat less than […]
Cause for concern in Delhi Worldwide, gallbladder cancer is relatively uncommon. In Delhi, however, it’s on the rise. There are eleven cases of gallbladder cancer for every one lakh Delhiites, researchers from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) estimate. This incidence may seem low. However, when one considers that the National Capital Region […]
Obesity is one of India’s most significant public health crises. Nationwide thirty million Indians struggle with their weight. Shockingly, this figure includes 14.4 million children who are considered obese. One of these children embarked on a battle to save his life. This fight saw him become the world’s heaviest teen to undergo gastric bypass surgery. […]
The air in Delhi was close to clean yesterday. This marked the first time this had happened in nearly a year. The news is a welcome respite for the 18.6 million residents of the national capital. But how long will it last? The Air Quality Index (AQI) assesses air quality by assigning values between 0 […]
The changing face of the Taj Mahal One of the most visible effects of India’s rapidly escalating pollution crisis is the changing face of one of its most iconic landmarks. The Taj Mahal, a marble mausoleum which stands 240 feet tall on the banks of Yamuna river in Agra, is famous for its ivory white […]
A future health crisis grows in Delhi as recent surveys find 20 percent of schoolchildren in the national capital suffer from obesity. The findings indicate Delhi’s burden of noncommunicable disease (NCD) is set to rise – a trend observed across India, where a combination of sedentary lifestyles and poor habits are increasing the prevalence of […]
