Posts

Showing posts with the label High blood pressure

Obesity epidemic of India

Image
Obesity in India is on the rise. It has reached enormous proportions. As I sit and count at airports, the number of women who look obviously overweight and obese, the figures I get is 8 out of 10. And this is around same in children of all sexes and around 6 in 10 men show clearcut overweight and obesity that is obvious even to naked eye. Anthropometric measurements might reveal more of them.  What are the likely causes? I have a theory that starts analysing these cases right from the 2000s or previous century. Junk food eating and sedantry lifestyle had already given an upward push to obesity in last century. And this also gave rise to diabetes mellitus in both men and women. Hence, such mothers also had diabetes in pregnancy. Some who did not have diabetes otherwise had gestational diabetes. From 2000 to 2026 prevalence of gestational diabetes has risen in india. It has even spread to rural areas and recent national data gives a figure of 22.4% which is almost 1 in 4 pregnant mot...

High blood pressure: What foods to consume to control it?

Image
High blood pressure is called hypertension and it kills silently. As age advances, it is common but remains undetected due to minimal symptoms. Hence regular blood checkups should be done to pick up the elevated blood pressure early and start therapy for it.  Symptoms of high blood pressure Most cases of high blood pressure are packed up when a blood pressure recording is done in a camp or clinic. Some patients might have complaints of dizziness, headache, nausea, and vomiting. But to the common nature of these symptoms, medical consultation is rarely sought for it.  Watermelon and it's health benefits  Some with very high systolic blood pressure (the upper reading)  may have throbbing head aches and even seizures. They may present with vomiting and blurring of vision. The blood vessels in the eye around the optic nerve dilate and get engorged. This is called papillodema.  Damage due to high blood pressure   High pressure on the arteries damages it's walls ...