Bangalore fraught with asthma

bangalore: respiratory ailments, hypertension, diabetes...they are all on offer for the resident bangalorean, and the health of the average citizen is turning into a cause for worry. an ill wind is blowing through the city beautiful, what with pollution, sedentary lifestyles and stress building up among the citizens. here are some alarming statistics: every fourth diabetic in the world lives in bangalore and one of every ninth bangalorean has diabetes.asthma is increasingly being reported in children (according to an estimate, 80 per cent) and obesity among adults. diseases are affecting citizens in newer ways too – other than the three threatening disorders, problems affecting the brain, heart, digestive system, sense organs and other parts of the body are here too. bangalore is, willy-nilly, fast gaining the dubious distinction of being a city of the ill, though on the flip side are good health facilities. it''s stock taking time for health-conscious bangaloreans as the globe celebrates world health day on sunday. dr b.j. mahendra, department of community medicine, kempegowda institute of medical sciences, says the focus of world health day is non-communicable diseases, ``and the illness affecting bangaloreans the most are also of the same variety''''. dr k. rajaram, managing trustee of sri ramana free clinic trust at malleswaram, says bangaloreans are visited regularly by viral fever, flu, allergies, asthma, jaundice. cancer is also common. many doctors do not see much of a solution to pollution, but suggest that stress-related factors can be controlled by leading an orderly life. dr b.t. rudresh, a national and state awardee in homeopathy, has been meeting close to 250 patients a day for the last 22 years. ``respiratory problems, diabetes and hypertension are common. cases of gastric ulcers are increasing too,'''' he says.