Gurgaon Residents Pick the Racket to Fight Diabetes: Paras Badminton Championship Aimed at Promoting Sports & Active Lifestyles

Gurgaon, November 24, 2016: Over 400 residents of the city picked up their badminton rackets and joined a unique initiative by Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon to promote the importance of active lifestyles and sports in fighting the rising incidence of diabetes.

Organized by the Hospital, the three-day Paras Badminton Championship saw amateur and professional badminton players join hands to engage in a tough round of competitive sport over three days – all for a ‘healthy’ cause. The event was supported by the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon.

The Badminton Championship was organized with an objective of raising awareness about the need for diabetes prevention through lifestyle modification that includes adopting active lifestyles. It is important to underline that diabetes can be prevented and even managed in a number of cases by weight control and physical activity, without the need for medication.
Mr. T. L. Satya Prakash, IAS, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon and Dr. Neeraj Bishnoi, Facility Director, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon joined the winners and awarded them their trophies after three days of tough fight in multiple categories on the badminton courts.

The men’s singles were won by Gaurav Kapoor from Sec 30, while the women’s singles was won by Ariana
Other winners included Bharat (Under 15 boys) Adya (Under 15 Girls ) Harjeev Singh (under 19 boys); Shivani (under 19 women); Mukesh Kumar (35+ men’s); Himani Punia (35+ women’s); Dinesh Singh Bisht (45+ men’s); Gaurav Kapoor and Adya (Mixed Doubles)

“Diabetes is one the major health threats facing our country. India has almost 70 million diabetes patients, with the number expected to rise to 101 million by 2030, according to estimates by the World Health Organization. As across the world, in recent years the diabetes surge in India has been driven by physical inactivity and obesity. Driven by these two lifestyle factors, the insulin disorder is also taking young adults and children in its grip. As a healthcare provider, we believe it is our duty to raise awareness about this major health threat and promote adoption of healthy and active lifestyles which is key to prevent diabetes,” said Dr. Neeraj Bishnoi.

“Risk factors for diabetes include overweight or obesity, an unhealthy diet and physical inactivity, which account for a major the increase in prevalence of diabetes. In recent years, we are even seeing children younger than 18 years of age reporting type 2 diabetes largely due to these risk factors. It is important to underline that children need at least one hour of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity every day, while adults need atleast 30 minutes of the same. However, today, very few urban Indians are active enough to meet this requirement. Through this event we want to raise awareness about the fact that diabetes can be prevented by adopting sports as a daily part of life,” said Dr Rajesh Kumar.

The Opening Ceremony of the Championship held on November 18 was presided over by Dr. Neeraj Bishnoi, Facility Director, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon; and Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Paras Hospitals Gurgaon.

With our daily work and living environments becoming increasingly sedentary, it is becoming more difficult to maintain sufficient levels of physical activity. This calls for special efforts to engage in exercise and sports daily. It is important for parents to encourage their children to play outdoors every day; as well as schools to promote sports as a part of their daily teaching.