Patna: A fit body with a fit mind is the best gift one could ask from God. Health experts also advise people to take up physical exercise, but they pointed out that the mushrooming of gyms and fitness centres without a qualified trainer has become a challenge.Former state president of IMA, Dr Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, said there should be regulation of such gyms or fitness centres and accountability should also be fixed.“Let me cite a small example: we do get cases of sprains or injury in the gym, which is because of improper equipment. Should that not be taken into account? I mean, it should be made a rule for the gym operators to get their equipment checked at certain intervals,” he said.Dr Prasad added that in the case of people who suffer from arthritis, if they take up running or other exercises, their condition further deteriorates.Hence, medical monitoring is a must. Head of the cardiothoracic surgery department at AIIMS-Patna, Dr Sanjeev Kumar, said how much exercise and what kind of exercise one should do depends on a person’s body surface and body mass index.Dr Sanjeev suggested people should not exaggerate or indulge in too much strenuous exercise, as it affects the heart’s muscle, leading to hypertrophy, in which the muscle of the heart increases and also weakens. He said this could lead to sudden death.Before starting a workout, he suggested a basic health check-up such as an Echo, which could give details about the heart muscle and valves, especially in a country like India, which has many cases of rheumatic heart disease with no visible symptoms and can make the condition difficult to detect. He also suggested people should seek advice from a sports medicine expert or physician before taking up the task.
