The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Doc’s advice: go slow on fast food

Ludhiana, November 3
Thousands of city youngsters are getting hooked to fast food, and many among them regularly consume it at the cost of their health. Children of the rich, belonging to nuclear families, with limited restrictions and few controls on pocket money, have developed special liking for a number of fast food items and have started ignoring the normal diet at home. They call their mothers “backward” or “out of the tune” with modern life when they are asked to take milk, lassi or home-cooked vegetables and other food items. Most of them daily need servings of pizzas, burgers, hotdogs, French fries etc . Some of them think it below their standard to take plain water and have developed special preference for coke or Pepsi. No wonder that such food habits are badly affecting the health of the youngsters.

Take the example of Kavita, (17) who looks badly malnourished. Her face appears dull and lacks youthfulness. She gets easily tired. She is losing interest in studies. Her physical and mental condition have become a cause of concern for her parents. One day she felt giddy and fell down in the morning assembly in the school.

When she was taken to a physician, she was diagnosed to be suffering from malnutrition and anaemia. Her haemoglobin was only 6 gm per cent. The doctor was surprised to learn that for the past one year, she had never taken home-made food. She always took noodles and burgers in the college canteen and got the fast food through home-delivery system in the home. The mother said, “Doctor, I am completely fed up with the eating habits of my daughter. She never listens to me. I keep on preparing tasty dishes for her, but she never looks at them. She gets nausea from the home-made preparations and when compelled, she starts vomiting.”

Similar was the case of another young girl, who had started with serious menstrual problems. Her attending gynaecologist diagnosed her to be a victim of severe malnutrition caused by regular consumption of fast food.

Fast food is becoming a big business in the city. Some of the prominent fast food corners provide efficient home-delivery system. So far many youngsters, a phone call to these joints bring hot food in no time. Many a time, children themselves place the order without their parents knowing. In case of working couples, many mothers feel relieved that fast food has helped them to reduce their kitchen work and they encourage their kids to get food from such outlets!

Dr Rajeev Gupta

PAU TT team
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, November 3
The following paddlers will represent Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, in the All-India Inter Agricultural Universities Sports and Games Meet to be held from November 5 to 9 at Rajasthan University, Bikaner, according to Mr Jaswinder Singh Toor, Director, Students Welfare, PAU.

The names of the players are: Rajesh Kumar of College of Basic Sciences and Humanities; Pankaj Kumar and Anubhav, both of College of Veterinary Sciences, Ravneet Kaur and Manideep Kaur, both of College of Home Sciences; and Ritu of College of Basic Sciences and Humanities.

Annual cricket tournament: The Friends Welfare Society will organise the second Annual Cricket Tournament at the Dugri ground from November 11. This was decided at a meeting of the society held today with Mr Gurdeep Singh in the chair, according to a press note issued by Mr Mohinder Singh Lall, general secretary of the society.

Sixteen teams will take part in this tournament and matches will be played on knock-out basis. In addition to the trophies, the cash prize money for the winners will be Rs 3,100 and Rs 2,100 for the runners-up, it said.

The balls and refreshment will be provided to the teams by the society. Interested teams may contact Mr Chander Shekhar, chairman of the society at phone nos 492068, 496060 and 546989, the note further said.

4-1 win for Guru Nanak College: Guru Nanak National College, Doraha, scored a thumping 4-1 victory over Arya College, Ludhiana, in the Punjab University Division A Hockey Tournament at the S.D. Government College for Boys ground here today.

Sarbjit Singh of Guru Nanak National College put his side ahead but the equaliser came in the very next minute off Gurdeep’s stick. Doraha college players pumped in three more goals through Sukhwinder Singh Gaggi, Yadwinder Singh and Amandeep Singh to seal Ludhiana college’s fate 4-1.