Fitness should be as integral a part of the daily routine — something like saying your prayers, brushing teeth or having a shower — like getting an education.

We focus so much on educating our children, which is excellent. Education needs the importance it is getting. But, so does wellness. We also need to inculcate the fitness habit. We need a lot more awareness right at the grassroots level — as Rajiv Gandhi was fond of saying.

If we include fitness as an important part of the school education it will begin being taken for granted — in the right way — like history or geography. When I say fitness, I don’t mean just the exercise; I mean the whole gamut of wellness. It includes nutrition, exercise, first aid, rest and recovery.

Imagine what a lovely nation India would be if every child was fit, every child knew what to eat and what not to, and could tell you off the cuff what each food contains in terms of nutrients!

Its importance cannot be emphasised enough. Instead of giving kids all those volumes to study in all the different subjects — just look at the bags each of them lugs to school and back — if only the school syllabus would include fitness in a fun way — not just once a week, but every day — it will work wonders.

Not only will the children be able to lug their bags around healthily, they will begin loving school. Children generally like movement, if only it can be structured to give them the best benefits with the knowledge, I can see a whole lot of Olympic champions coming out of India.

How fit do you find the current generation of Indians? And, the older generations?

Not very, I am sad to say. So much more needs to be done. First of all, an awareness has to be built. In any and every way possible. In India, the focus on fitness is sadly lacking. The diversity in our population is tremendous. The ignorance is, too. Educated people need to be re-educated on the fitness aspect in their lives.

We did a CSR programme in an upmarket school. The children who came there carried foods like butter slathered jam sandwiches for their snack almost every day. Such foods are not healthy. These are what we call empty calories in gym lingo. Naturally such foods, while convenient, will lead to obesity among children.

In fact, cholesterol problems — a malady that came with age earlier — are now attacking the young in India. Even two-and-a-half-year-old toddlers are being admitted in hospitals with cholesterol problems. This is alarming.

Among the teens — especially girls — anorexia and bulimia are quite common. To keep up their body image, they find the binge-purge method as the easy way out, not realising once they begin leading a normal life with proper food habits, their bodies, so used to starving will begin storing all the food they consume as fat.

Instead, if they ate smart, indulging occasionally and exercising for 30 minutes every day, they will be fine — physically and mentally.

The older generation get problems such as blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease before they begin exercising, modifying their lifestyle and eating right. Often, we find they come to us because the doctors tell them they’d better workout.

My point is why take that route at all, when all they need to invest is their time and efforts into prevention.

P. Vivekanand, MD, FitnessOne