I was waiting outside the physician's room for my turn to see him but a talkative woman patient was not leaving even after the doctor had examined her and written out a prescription.

Others in the queue like me could hear her asking too many questions and even making wild suggestions that were seemingly annoying the doctor. Our patience was also being put to test.

The woman (I would call her Sunita) was advised by the physician to do a lot of walking, preferably in the morning and again in the evening. "It is a must for you. You have to do it if you have to get over your problem. No excuses. Understand?" the doctor told her emphatically. But the patient was not happy. While we thought the session was over and at least now she would come out, we heard her imploring the doctor for saving her from the "bother of strolling." (Note the word ‘bother') She asked, "Is there no tablet that I could take instead? I promise I will take it regularly but please don't ask me to go out for a walk."

The doctor was nonplussed. Sunita reticently told him she did not want to miss her favourite television programmes. The frank statement stumped the physician. He simply counselled Sunita to do as advised or remain prepared for bigger health problems in the future.

I do not know what she decided but it must be appreciated that Sunita was honest enough to state her preference.

I am narrating this incident to highlight the negative effects that the boon of modern times, the television set, is having on society. Needless to say the idiot box has brought the world closer and it takes us ‘live' to places around the globe where we could never have gone even in our dreams. But at the same time, its addiction is adversely impacting the people's health, their lifestyle and their general well-being.

Yes, Sunita seemed to have been an exception in asking for a tablet "to save her from the bother" of walking. But there are others who somehow detest the idea of going out even for a formal brief walk. Reasons may vary from person to person but, in most cases, it is sheer lethargy aided and abetted by their love for TV programmes. In any case, having talked to experts I agree with them that it is an alarming trend. Sedentary habits and lifestyle are leading to increasing incidence of ailments like diabetes and obesity that, in turn, are causing cardiac and other serious health problems. Such a situation is casting an unnecessary burden on their purse and adding to the woes of the already overburdened public health services, including hospitals.

Happily, the medical fraternity in India is getting increasingly concerned over the ascending graph of afflictions that they say could be easily averted or at least controlled. In metros like Delhi and Mumbai, they occasionally organise events to educate the uninformed but I am told that the level of receptivity has been nominal.

I do not mean to deride the role of TV, which is undoubtedly an unmatched source of entertainment and information. Besides highlighting hazards of obesity and tips on good health and well-being, the idiot box disseminates information that impacts everybody's daily life.

But at the same time its negative effects remain a reality which we can ill-afford to ignore. Unchecked marketing of undesirable foods, drugs, cosmetics and so-called energy drinks that would be banned in any other country, are playing spoilsport here through the small screen.

A housewife has her own viewpoint over the utility of TV. With no mother-in-law, mother or any other adult available to assist her in child care in her nuclear family, she keeps her kid ‘busy' watching the TV from his cradle or perambulator! Can you beat it?

 

Lalit Raizada is a journalist based in India.