India to prepare doctors for mounting lifestyle diseases

Government is set to introduce courses on preventive healthcare, including obesity, cancer

- Priyanka Sharma

The change in curriculum reflects the nation's impending health challenges, with obesity becoming the major driver for non-communicable diseases.

(ISTOCKPHOTO)

India is set to introduce mandatory courses on preventive healthcare, including obesity, cancer, women and child healthcare, and other lifestyle diseases, for all medical postgraduates amid the rising burden of such conditions, according to the head of the country's top medical education regulator.

"We are committed to promoting preventive healthcare through dedicated courses," Dr. Abhijat Sheth, newly elected chairman of the National Medical Commission (NMC), told Mint in an interview. "We are in the process of introducing postgraduate courses on preventive healthcare, focusing on areas like cancer prevention (including cervical cancer), noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), women's health, and communicable diseases."