Excessive gym taking toll on youth’s health

Ludhiana: The Bollywood industry has witnessed cases where many esteemed actors have passed away due to exertion after working out at the gym, apart from collapsing while on the treadmill, complaining of chest pain, and suffering from a cardiac arrest. Three people from Ludhiana also died while working out at the gym, last year. All these deaths have caused Ludhianvis to question the idea of fitness, and ask how much exercise actually contributes to overall health. Also, this has left many confused about how gymming could lead to deaths. The topic was raised in many seminars conducted by city colleges to sensitise the students to mark the Drug Prevention and Treatment Month, as declared by the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment.
The issue caught attention when educationists learned that youngsters today were not only consuming drugs, but also gym supplements and steroids. Meanwhile, the government has also banned the sale of gym supplements inside the gym, but they still continue to be sold openly in the markets.
Talking to TOI, a Ghumar Mandi- based gym owner Arpit Vinayak said, “Small gym owners significantly sell supplements inside gyms to their clients to gain extra bucks. Not only supplements, but the gym trainers also supply steroids for bodybuilding illegally, taking a toll on their clients’ health. We ensure that no trainer is allowed to sell supplements, and instead replace it with healthy diet and bodyweight training.”
He added that youngsters were mostly influenced by social media influencers: “Youngsters between 16-30 tend to follow influencers and what they recommend, which may not be applicable for everyone or all body types. People can rather switch to safe diets and reliable trainers.”
Trainers also blame excess workout and ‘ego lifting’ besides supplements and steroids on taking a toll on gymmers’ healths.
Rakesh Gupta, a certified trainer located at Hambran Road said, “There are no gym clubs and associations in Ludhiana to take up such issues with the government and voice our opinion, as it is a heterogeneous industry. But banning whey protein is not genuine as these are food dietary supplements, not anabolic supplements. But people who are not qualified and certified guide other people in fat loss and transformation. With little knowledge and information, people have to bear side effects. I recommend a medical test before starting and joining the gym.”
Another gym owner, maintaining anonymity, said, “The health department should conduct raids at gyms and fitness centres for the sale of supplements and steroids. Youngsters too, should be counselled about harmful and duplicate products.”
Officials to crackdown on illegal sale of supplements
Zonal licensing officer Kulwinder Singh said, “The inspection is done by the food and drugs department, along with police officials. The sale of steroids and medicine is looked after by the drugs department, and the sale of supplements is under the food department.”
District health officer Gurpreet Singh said, “This is undeniable that this was an unorganised sector, however, the some shops selling gym products fall under the food department. FSSAI has notified new instructions lately to get such shops registered with the department.”
“Now we are arranging awareness camps to get the registrations. We would also regulate the sale and conduct sampling of gym products randomly to check whether they are selling duplicate products so that no consumer’s health is harmed unnecessarily,” he added.