How Modi can make yoga more than just a gimmick

The sight of thousands of people of all ages and walks of life exercising on the Rajpath, and also in different cities throughout the country, on Sunday should gladden the hearts of public health experts who, for years, have been advocating such promotion of physical activity in general public.

If one takes away celebratory tone, political bickering and undercurrents of cultural nationalism from it, the first International Yoga Day has provided India a unique opportunity to undertake a large scale experiment in public health. Physical inactivity is considered a key risk factor of several non-communicable diseases (diabetes, stroke, heart disease, cancers) and promotion of physical activity through public policy instruments such as yoga can help us tackle this risk factor. Heart disease is number one killer in India, while the number of new cancer cases every year in the country is close to one million.

The objective of UN in dedicating a day for yoga was indeed promotion of physical activity. This was clearly reflected in the resolution which established June 21 as Yoga Day. It stressed "the importance of individuals and populations making healthier choices and following lifestyle patterns that foster good health." The UN resolution recalled the directive of the World Health Organization (WHO ) to its member states to help their citizens reduce physical inactivity, which is among the top ten leading causes of death worldwide.

However, promoting yoga is not the only way the government can motivate people to remain physically active. All forms of physical exercise and activities that let people remain physically fit should be encouraged and promoted. Public infrastructure should be developed in such a way that physical activity becomes a part of daily routine, instead of being a weekend or leisure activity. This means that we need to develop infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists so that people can walk or cycle to work, wherever feasible. We need to invest in developing public parks, gymnasiums and areas for children to play in our cities and towns. We need improved public transport as it encourages physical activity. We need work place policies that let people indulge in healthy activities. School curriculum has to incorporate games and physical training, along with facilities.

This calls for a national policy on health promotion and physical activity, integrating everything from walking and cycling to yoga. Many counties have been actively promoting health and fitness as a policy, such as Singapore and Brazil, and are reaping rich dividends in terms of health gains. Without a well crafted public policy on physical activity, events like yoga day will just remain costly photo opportunities.

At the same time, caution has to be exercised while projecting health gains of physical activity. It is misleading to project that just a few minutes of yoga or meditation every day can cure ailments like high blood pressure, diabetes, thyroidism, cancers and even infectious diseases, as claimed by some gurus and babas. Remaining physically active and eating balanced diet can help prevent onset of non-communicable diseases and manage them better once the onset has occurred. Therefore, it is critical that health experts and the ministry of health are involved in any plan or policy to promote physical activity.

Excessive promotion of one form of exercise or projecting it as panacea for all ailments could prove to be counterproductive.