New Delhi: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), one of the apex trade associations of the country successfully organized another edition of the webinar series on ‘Illness to Wellness’ campaign, themed around “Thyroid & Related Disorders–Impact on Health”.

ASSOCHAM organized this webinar with an objective to cascade mass awareness and disseminate knowledge & wisdom for prevention and treatment of thyroid.

The virtual event was graced by a team of eminent Gastroenterologists, hepatologist who shared their valuable inputs on causes, trends and recent advancements in the treatment of thyroid, which included – (Padma Shri), Prof. (Dr) Shashank Joshi, Department of Diabetology and Endocrinology, Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai; Dr Dheeraj Kapoor, Head, Endocrinology, ARTEMIS Hospital; Dr Sudhir Tripathi, Senior Consultant, Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital; Mr Anil Rajput, chairperson, ASSOCHAM CSR Council and Dr Rajesh Kesari, founder and director, Total Care Control who served as a moderator for the panel.

The ASSOCHAM’s campaign running under a CSR initiative supported by SAVLON, aims at promoting healthy living with a keen focus on wellness and preventive health through healthy habits, diet, exercise, and holistic health.

Sharing his perspective, Dr Joshi said, “Thyroid disorder occurs when thyroid gland does not work properly either permanently or temporarily. However, the disease is treatable, and one needs to consult endocrinologists once in three months and in some cases only once in a year.”

Dr Joshi also emphasized on following healthy lifestyle, balanced diet and follow regular exercise regime. 

Addressing the ASSOCHAM webinar, Dr Tripathi talked about the various thyroid disorders in detail. He said, the commonest thyroid disorder is Hypothyroidism, followed by Hyperthyroidism. Hypothyroidism can affect the entire life span of a human from congenital hypothyroidism at birth, to juvenile hypothyroidism, adult onset hypothyroidism and even in the elderly age group. The treatment of hypothyroidism is generally lifelong, but it is easy to begin and continue and is without side effects.

Dr Kapoor, in his address also explained Thyroid is a butterfly shaped gland in the neck which weighs about 18 grams it is not a disease.  The under functioning glands leads to hypothyroidism and the over functioning gland leads to hyperthyroidism.

On behalf of the chamber, Mr Rajput said that following a regular exercise regime, maintaining healthy weight together with low fat, low sugar, low rice and high fibre diet can go a long way for everyone to keep such ailments at bay and avoid unnecessary complications.

He added, “In India over 42 million people suffer from Thyroid ailments and 1 in 10 adults suffer from hypothyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid gland doesn’t produce the required hormones to meet the needs of the body. Hypothyroidism can also cause serious complications during pregnancy. In addition, other grave diseases can adversely impact the thyroid and then there are Thyroid nodules, Goitre, etc which can negatively impact thyroid health.”

The session was moderated by Dr Rajesh Kesari, founder and director, Total Care Control who also shed some light on the gravitas of the topic and highlighted the need to stay healthy and eat right, as he successfully summarized the discussion with expert inputs of the esteemed panel.