Hypertension, diabetes, asthma are common among cops Department planning to start yoga classes for the staff Hyderabad: Yoga and med...
- Hypertension, diabetes, asthma are common among cops
- Department planning to start yoga classes for the staff
Hyderabad: Yoga and meditation are now seen as the new mantra to combat the increasing level of stress and tension among the cops. These programmes are designed not only to mitigate job-related stress but are aimed to develop mental focus and resiliency and well-being in a plethora of ways, they observed.
To coincide with ‘World Hypertension Day,’ Cyberabad CP, CV Anand advised, “Cops should keep aside one hour a day at least for health. It may be yoga, meditation, walking, cycling, hitting a gym or any other game for that matter. Healthy food habits and proper timings, avoidance of spicy and oily stuff would lead a healthy life.”
Cops at a yoga session in Hyderabad on Saturday
According to a survey, it was revealed that one in five cops had hypertension and asthma because of inhaling of toxic air pollutants. Symptoms of hypertension (high blood pressure) were found in 35 per cent of personnel while 30 per cent had allergy and sleep disorder problems and the remaining suffer from acidity. Policemen have unbalanced diet and limited choice of food while on duty, suffer from disrupted sleep patterns, stress, and have high rates of tobacco and alcohol consumption than the general population.
When asked to share the thoughts on ‘World Hypertension Day,’ Additional CP (Traffic) Jitender also highlighted the grave health risks the cops face in the line of duty. “Yoga and meditation are helpful to people to remain healthy and unhealthy to become healthy,” the official advised.
“Our staff braves the worst harsh conditions of pollution, besides job-related stress and long hours of duty. While we do have regular tests and mechanism to ensure their health is monitored, we encourage them to undergo regular yoga and meditation sessions to keep them happier,” a senior police officer said adding that the police hospital also has a clinic with dedicated doctors to ensure proper advice and tips for the policemen.
The department has now decided to start yoga for the all staff members to keep the diseases in control, the officer added. According to health experts, the erratic timings and bad eating habits coupled with stress of the job have made them prone to hypertension and diabetes.
“The most common diseases seen in policemen are hypertension and acidity. We have observed that variable working hours are leading to obesity and sleep disorders in these men. They have very unhealthy diet, which adds to the problem and are struggling with expanding waistline,” a city-based doctor said. If the programme comes out successful, the initiative might be taken up with higher officials in an effort to implement in all police stations to make the staff stress free, sources said.
