Mangaluru: Health and family welfare minister UT Khader Saturday called for immediate changes in dietary habits and lifestyle to lead a healthy life. “Our health is in our hands,” he said, inaugurating the Nutrition Month observation programme under Poshan Abhiyaan at Ambedkar Bhavan in the city.The programme was organised with Dakshina Kannada district administration, zilla panchayat, department of women and child development, child development project (Mangaluru Rural), and Ayush department. Khader said a healthy society is possible if people consume healthy, nutritious food. Modern lifestyles often favour food that appeals to the tongue, but food is for health, not just taste. He said people must place greater emphasis on foods that provide the essential nutrients the body needs.He urged people to build healthy families and a robust society through nutritious food. Such food is particularly important during children’s developmental stages, and mothers must inculcate healthy eating habits from a young age, he added.State Minimum Wages Advisory Board chairperson TM Shahid Thekkil, Karnataka State Ecotourism Development Board chairperson Shalet Lavina Pinto, women and child development deputy director MS Sridhara Vasu, and others were present at the event.The programme included Seemantha, a traditional baby shower, and Annaprashana, the first rice feeding for infants, and the distribution of Chyawanprash to malnourished and moderately malnourished children.
