We all love to sip on our favourite beverages using a plastic straw. Be it a smoothie or a soft drink, an energy drink or a cold coffee - using a straw is a super convenient and fuss-free way of enjoying any cold drink. Many like to enjoy their drinks this way because using a straw reduces the exposure to sugary and carbonated drinks in the mouth, preventing acid erosion of the teeth out enamel. While it may be convenient to drink beverages using plastic straws, it might not be an eco-friendly option. Moreover, this could be an unhealthy practice too. If you haven't known the health hazards plastic straws can bring, we unveil some of them.According to Chief Nutritionist Priya Bharma, Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, "We sip our drinks through straw because it is simply easier. It has somehow become our habit to use straw while sipping cold or hot drink that is poured in a glass. It's highly recommended to not use straw as they are supposed to be made of polyethylene compounds and contains harmful chemicals that enter your body and welcome many diseases while we sip. Try not to use straw but if you wish you may use paper straw or bamboo straw."

While drinking beverages using a straw, the movement of the mouth area may encourage the breakdown of collagen and elasticity more quickly and easily, causing unnecessary wrinkle and fine lines. This may be true in case of regular sipping on beverages with a plastic straw.

Another reason to drop the straw is the presence of many chemicals in the plastic. Most straws contain petroleum based plastic called polypropylene and Bisphenol A (BPA) that can easily leak chemicals in the liquid, especially if it's a hot cup that heats and melts the plastic. These plastic chemicals are known to cause obesity and, in extreme cases, even cancer.

Along with drinking just liquid using a straw, you are also swallowing excess air unknowingly that is responsible for causing gas and bloating in your stomach. Therefore, it is always better to drink your beverage directly from the glass rather than using a second source.

Another concern related to plastic straws is that it may cause cavities; this however has to do with the location at which you place the straw in the mouth and how you sip. Most people sip with the straw in the middle of their mouth. Sipping through a straw can concentrate the exposure of sugar to one area, causing tooth cavity or decay over prolonged usage.

It is good to give up on plastic straws as they have the potential of not only harming your health, but also doing nothing good for the environment considering they are non-recyclable. Drop the straw and enjoy your lemonade and iced teas without any external health risks.

If you want to stay away from obesity in later life, then start eating more plant-based foods as researchers say consumption of even mild vegetarian diet may reduce the risk of obesity in long term.

A study showed that people with higher scores on the plant-based diet index had a lower body mass index (BMI) over the long term. It also reported that in order to guard against obesity, one does not need to eliminate meat-based food entirely from diet.

“Our study suggests that a more plant-based and less animal-based diet beyond strict adherence to vegan or vegetarian diets may be beneficial for preventing overweight/ obesity in middle-aged and elderly populations,” said Zhangling Chen from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

“Eating a plant-based diet to protect against obesity does not require a radical change in diet or a total elimination of meat or animal products. Instead, it can be achieved in various ways, such as moderate reduction of red meat consumption or eating a few more vegetables.

“This supports current recommendations to shift to diets rich in plant foods, with low in consumption of animal foods,” Chen explained.

The study, presented during European Congress on Obesity (ECO2018) in Austria, included data from 9,641 middle-aged and elderly adults with an average age of 62 years.

The results showed that people with higher plant-based diet scores had lower BMI in long-term mainly due to lower body fat mass, after adjusting long-term effects of time of repeated measurements, total energy intake, education, socioeconomic background and physical activity levels.

These associations were stronger in middle-aged participants (45-65 years) than elderly

Besides smoking and drinking alcohol, parents’ health including obesity and poor diet can have “profound implications” for the growth, development and long-term health of their children before their conception, says a series of studies published in the journal Lancet.

The findings showed that smoking, high alcohol and caffeine intake, diet, obesity, and malnutrition in either or both parents, potentially increases a child’s lifelong risk of heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, immune and neurological diseases.

The research emphasises the need for greater awareness of preconception health and improved guidance, with a greater focus on diet and nutrition to improve the health of future generations.

“Research is now showing that our gametes and early embryos are sensitive to a variety of environmental conditions including poor parental diet. These effects can change the process of development, affecting growth, metabolism, and health of offspring, so makes the case for both parents to have a healthy lifestyle well before conception and pregnancy,” said Tom Fleming, Professor at the University of Southampton.

Maternal obesity is thought to enhance levels of inflammation and hormones, which can directly alter the development of the egg and embryo. This, in turn, boosts the odds of chronic disease later in life.

In men, being obese leads to poor sperm quality, quantity, and motility associated with many of the same conditions.

“The preconception period is a critical time when parental health — including weight, metabolism and diet — can influence the risk of future chronic disease in children, and we must now re-examine public health policy to help reduce this risk,” said Judith Stephenson, Professor from the University College of London.

“While the current focus on risk factors such as smoking and excess alcohol intake is important, we also need new drives to prepare nutritionally for pregnancy in both parents,” Stephenson added.

The results were based in part on two new analyses of women of reproductive age – 18 to 42 – in the UK and Australia.

The team also found that women are often not “nutritionally prepared” for pregnancy. Some 96 per cent of the women, for example, had iron and folate intakes below the recommended levels, 14.8 milligrams and 400 micrograms per day, respectively.

Adjusting diet after a pregnancy has begun is often not good enough to fundamentally improve child health, the researchers said.

They propose that behaviour change interventions, supplementation, and fortification starting in adolescence, by schools could help young adults prepare for healthy parenthood in the future.

Gone are the days when chubby children were looked upon as privileged kids, something to be taken pride in by parents.

Chubbiness is no sign of good health, but an alarm bell for obesity risk. With more and more children getting obese in the recent years, it is leading to various health problems.

According to the Paediatric Obesity International Journal, at this rate, the country will have more than 17 million obese children by 2025.

A WHO report also revealed some alarming facts, stating that the number of obese and overweight children under five has nearly doubled since 1990.

The authors of the report from the Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity stressed that the epidemic has historically not been treated as a grave public health issue and was regarded by some as a product of lifestyle choices by individuals and families.

But following two years of research in more than 100 countries, the authors underscored that governments and global health organisations were central to reversing the scourge.

Perhaps the kids are not the ones at fault. Biological factors, inadequate access to healthy foods, a decline in physical activity and the unregulated marketing of fattening foods are among the drivers of a worsening epidemic that requires a coordinated global response, the report said.

There's lack of awareness as well among parents. Most parents are proud of their children being "healthy" without realising that they could be at risk of physiological and psychological complications in later stages of life.

No strict measures are taken to check what and how much do children eat, how much they sleep and whether or not they exercise and follow other healthy lifestyle habits.


Childhood obesity is known be one of the factors leading to high BP, cholesterol, heart ailments, diabetes, respiratory illness, infertility.

Most medical complications are masked till adulthood, and they surface only later, posing serious threat to health.

Whether you're overweight or not, exercise can reduce cholesterol. Better yet, a moderate physical activity can help raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the "good" cholesterol. With your doctor's OK, work up to at least 30mins of exercise a day. Remember that adding physical activity, even in 10-minute intervals several times a day can help you begin to lose weight. Just be sure that you can keep up the changes you decide to make. Consider:

- Taking a brisk daily walk during your lunch hour.
- Go for early morning walks.
- Swimming laps
- Playing a favourite sport
- Taking an dance/aerobics class
- Using weight machines or lifting free weights to build muscle tone.
- Household Chores such as cleaning, lifting, etc.