Walk for Health’ Doctors Advise Delhiites: Max Bupa survey

83% Doctors recommend walking over other forms of strenuous exercises to stay healthy, given the current pollution levels in the city 

Key findings:

• 90% doctors prescribe walking in the Sun for maintaining required Vitamin D3 levels in the body
• 62% feel that eating foods rich in Vitamin B, Vitamin C and Betacarotene would help nullify the adverse impact of air pollution
• 30% doctors feel that its best to walk indoors while the majority feel that walking outdoors with necessary precautions is the best way

New Delhi, November 30, 2017: Max Bupa, India’s one of theleading standalone health insurance player, conducted a survey with about 60 medical practitioners including Pulmonologists and ENT experts to determine the steps that Delhiites should take to stay healthy, given the current state of air pollution in Delhi/ NCR. As per the survey, walking emerged as the preferred form of exercise – over other forms of exercises such as jogging, running and cycling – for Delhiites in the wake of the regular poor air quality issues that continue to persist in the city.^~83% of the doctors surveyed recommended daily walks, armed with the right precautions, to help negate the ill-effects of the poor air quality outside.

The Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA), constituted by the Central Government in compliance of Hon’ble Supreme Court’s order expects the air quality to deteriorate further due to various local and international factors and this poses imminent health hazard for Delhiites. On November 27, the level of air pollution in Delhi was marked “very unhealthy” with the average level of PM 2.5 – at 203^{^1} units in some parts of Delhi, down from over the 450-499 mark a few weeks back, but still over 10 times the safe limit. Considering the reduced ‘danger’, health experts have observed that individuals are approaching the outdoors with reduced caution. However, the Max Bupa survey reveals that doctors still find the air highly harmful for health and recommend that people took up moderate walking indoors to maintain an active lifestyle while avoiding the harmful air outside. Doctors also advise various precautions such as breathing masks, choosing the right time to venture outdoors and rationing the time spent outdoors. This is especially important in the wake of anticipated worsening conditions in Delhi in the next few days.

“Our purpose is to help our customers live healthier and more successful lives. A severe increase in pollution levels poses high health risks to people across age groups. We have initiated the ‘Lets Breathe Better Together’campaign through which we are motivating our employees, customers and followers on social media on precautions they can take to curb the ill effects of pollution and at the same time stay healthy. We conducted a survey with Pulmonologists and ENT experts to get a collective consolidated view from the medical fraternity on what everyone should do to stay healthy in the current situation and about 83% of the health experts recommended about 30 minutes of walk daily both from a short-term and a long term perspective owing to the multiple health benefits of walking,” says Ashish Mehrotra, MD and CEO, Max Bupa.

• Physical Activity
• The survey revealed that 87% doctors feel that physical activity like walking cannot stop due to high pollution levels.
• However one needs to take adequate precautions like wearing masks as prescribed by 93% doctors stating that they help in reducing the adverse impact of pollution.
• Nearly 70% doctors feel that 30 minutes is the ideal duration for walking in the present situation.
• On a normal day, with permissible PM levels nearly 80% doctors feel that the best time to walk is early morning i.e. before 8am. Less than 10% recommend walking in the afternoon. However, given the current situation with pollution ~25% are recommending walking in the afternoon to counter poor air quality.
• Doctors advised that running and strenuous exercises that catalyzed oxygen burning in the body should be avoided in the present situation.
• Diet
• External sources of nutrition are equally important. 87% doctors feel that to build Vitamin D levels, walking in the Sun is the best medium and that people should walk in the Sun, a time when the pollution is also slightly lower due to sunshine. Less than 10% recommend the use of supplements for the same.
• Talking about the nutrient consumption, 62% of the doctors surveyed said that eating foods rich in Vitamin B, Vitamin C and Betacarotene would help nullify the adverse impact of air pollution to some extent and intake of foods rich in such nutrients should be increased.
• Age and Physical Conditions
• For kids under/ up to the age of 7 years, 65% doctors recommend staying indoors as they believe high pollution levels could trigger allergies among kids that could cause Asthma.
• 73% doctors also feel that people inflicted by respiratory ailments and heart issues should stay indoors.

Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)