‘Exercise, healthy diet help prevent diseases’

LAHORE: Speakers at cancer awareness seminar Friday highlighted a need to sensitise youths about their health, saying that inactive lifestyle, unhealthy diet, smoking, alcohol and lack of exercise multiplied the risk of fatal diseases especially cancer.

The seminar was organised by the Zoology Department of Government College University (GCU) in collaboration with Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) in connection with the World Cancer Day.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Hassan Amir Shah chaired the seminar which was also addressed by eminent oncologists Dr Usman Rashid, Captain Dr Kashifa Ehsan and Dr Aftab Ahmed. The seminar was followed by free mammography screening of GCU senior female staff and faculty members by SKMCH through the hospital’s mobile unit.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof Hassan Shah told students that a healthy mind and body was the most precious gift, so they must protect it by adopting an active and healthy lifestyle. He said GCU regularly held seminar and lectures on health related issues to create awareness and sensitise the students about their health.

Talking about different fatal diseases, Dr Kashifa Ehsan said there were 200 different types of cancers which killed more than one million people every year around the globe. However, she said that 30 to 50 percent cancers could be prevented by adopting healthy and active lifestyle.

She asked students to daily exercise for minimum 20 minutes and have a balanced diet heavy in fruits and plant-origin foods. Dr Ehsan also said smoking and unbalanced diet were major causes of cancer. She said more than 150,000 cases of cancer were reported every year whereas there were only 21 hospitals for this disease in the country. She said there was lack of awareness in Pakistan about cancer, and mostly cases were reported at late stages.

Dr Usman Rashid and Dr Aftab Ahmed also briefed students about different forms of cancer, their symptoms and treatments. They asked students to act as volunteers in their families and educate their relatives about this dreadful disease.