Competitions and events galore for schools and colleges at the 24th Perfect Health Mela

• PHM this year is focusing on dance and music as a means to good health through various activities
• Children from schools and colleges alike participate in huge numbers in this one-of-a- kind event

New Delhi October 6, 2017: Heart Care Foundation of India, a leading national non-profit organization committed to making India a healthier and disease-free nation on the 2nd day of its annual flagship event- MTNL Perfect Health Mela (PHM) organized a plethora of activities for school and college students. Among the events were the National Harmony and Eco-Festival, the Divya Jyoti and Medico Masti Youth Competitions, and Heritage – a series of National Classical Dance Competitions. The Mela is being organized at the Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi. Thousands of school and college students participated in the events.

The PHM uses infotainment to spread health awareness among the masses. This is a new concept of spreading health education where knowledge is interlinked with entertainment. The highlight of these competitions and other events this year is the fact that even dance and music have been used to show how these art forms benefit health.

Speaking about this, Padma Shri Awardee Dr K K Aggarwal, National President Indian Medical Association (IMA) and President Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) said, “The HCFI has constantly endeavored to develop engaging and consumer-driven modules to educate the masses about the importance of preventive healthcare and the PHM is one of the most successful examples of this. It is important to educated children from an early age itself about basic disease prevention and the importance of health and hygiene. Keeping the surroundings clean can eliminate over 50% of the country’s disease burden and children being the future of the country can be taught to do all this right at the onset.In addition to this, they must also be taught about the dangers of smoking, obesity,unhealthy eating, and lack of physical activity. The competitions and other activities being organized for schools and colleges as part of this Mela are not only intended as a means of entertainment but to create health awareness through these media. I am happy to see participation by children in such large numbers.”

Among the various activities organized during the day were western and Indian dance competitions, youth rock band/orchestra competition, inter-school singing competitions, painting, collage making, model demonstration, and nukkadnatak. While the painting competition was themed ‘Save the girl child’, nukkadnatak focused on the ‘Tikakaranprogramme’. The highlight was a Qawwali competition preceded by a performance by the Urdu Academy.

Adding further, Dr Aggarwal, said, “Preventive measures towards good health must start right at a young age, in both school and college students. College students should follow the principles of formula of 80 which are as follows: To live for more than 80 years without lifestyle diseases, keep your abdominal circumference, lower blood pressure, LDL (bad) cholesterol, pulse rate, and fasting sugar lower than80.Anyone who gains weight of more than 5 kg after the age of 18 in girls and 20 in boys is obese andoverweight. Any weight gain at this age should be avoided.”

These activities and events for schools and colleges will span the next two days also, and the competitions only promise more variety and increased knowledge and awareness.

Speaking on the occasion, budding actor and model, Ms Sangeeta Kapoor and veteran movie artist Inderpal Singh (of Vicky Donor fame),said, “It is heartening to see so many youngsters here today. This is proof of the fact that they are aware and conscious of their surroundings and health. Health awareness should start right in our homes and we, as elders, should set examples for children by leading a healthy lifestyle and avoiding any habits that are detrimental to health such as smoking and drinking. I wish HCFI and the participating students all the best.”

Some key focus areas of this Mela include generating oxygen through indoor plants, promoting fast food (easy to eat and quick items like fruits and vegetables) as opposed to traditional fried fast food items, learning to create noise and pollution free environments, importance of doctor-patient relationship, eliminating refined carbs, and misuse of antibiotics. The 24th edition of the PHM being held this year will be a precursor leading up to its silver jubilee celebrations starting the next year.