17% of tested children suffer from BP issues unearths Healpha Health Report Card Report additionally reveals

365telugu.com online news,Hyderabad, 8^th November 2021: Healpha School Health Porgam conducted a detailed health study by establishing contact with 64,615 parents for a health screening of 3- to 18-year-olds from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra over a period of 18 months pre-Covid in India.

The Healpha health report card has identified that 17 per cent of tested students suffer from blood pressure issues. Currently, in today’s time, high blood pressure in children is a growing health problem which is often unheeded and worse – unidentified. It is suggested that children should be tested for blood pressure variance once in a year beginning at three years of age. With the growing pollution, lack of breathing exercises, exposure to smoke, children’s respiratory system is getting severely affected. According to the report, 8% of girls screened and 9% of boys screened are suffering with increased blood pressure. It is alarming and need interventions to stop the BP related ailments in children by creating a conducive healthy environment.

Elucidating the views on the report, Mr. Raj Janapareddy, Founder & CSO, Healpha, said “The Healpha Health Report Card is a reality check for parents, teachers, principals and the Government about the on-ground status of the health of children – the future of India. In a population of 1.3 billion, 41% of the population are below 18 years. The report has revealed that we are moving towards a high working population but a very low healthy working population. And, we are not in a state of readiness to measure the potential impact on GDP and the pressures on the healthcare system.”

“Our tests have shown us that 0.0018% of our children today are in perfect health condition. If we extrapolate this data, we as a country are looking at only 4885 perfectly healthy citizens from a population of 26.5 crores! Alarming indeed. For the government and the parents, it is time to sit up, think and act. As a parent and as a citizen of this amazing country, I know that I am worried. Conscious medical and paramedical industry focus on bringing our kids the best health possible”, is the need of the hour, he further added.

While growing numbers of BP issues may be a challenge in its own right, what is not unexpected but very disheartening is the sheer percentage of children suffering from high/low BMI related issues. About 71% of the total boys screened suffered from BMI issues compared to 60% of the total girls screened. This also indicates an urgent need to review our own and our child’s lifestyle habits – including food, exercise and screen times.