NEWYORK: American Council of Minority Women along with NYU and Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asian Living in America held a public health seminar in Brooklyn to aware participants about obesity, diabetes, hypertension, blood pressure and heart diseases.
MASALA study’s assistant research scientist Haroon Zafar briefed the participants of the seminar about obesity, diabetes, hypertension, blood pressure and heart diseases.
He said that diabetes, hypertension, blood pressure and heart diseases can be avoided by proper diet and exercise in daily routine.
A large number of people including senior citizens participated in the seminar. It was informed that men and women from age of 40 to 84, who have not suffered from any heart disease or complications, can be participated in the MASALA study.
The participants of the research will be paid $100 after three hours of medical examination and fulfillment of questionnaire.
The MASALA Study is funded by the US National Institutes of Health and recently it received $21 million in funding to investigate the causes of heart disease. MASALA study team also briefed the participants.
The speakers of the seminar said that more than 55 percent of Pakistanis living in New York and more than 50 percent of Bangladeshis are facing obesity. They said that weight gain leads to diabetes and blood pressure which later become cause of heart diseases.
American officials also participated in the seminar, who said that MASALA study is a gift to public health.
Speakers told the participants that the lifestyle of Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities was not healthy as compare to native Americans and probably this is one of reason that they have not been researched much in the past.
ACMW chairperson Bazah Roohi and other participants of the community said that it is important to take care of health for better healthy life.
MASALA study will conduct various blood tests of the volunteers participants for the research purposes and their information will be kept confidential as per the law.
At present, people from Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities were being included on priority basis while more than 900 people from Indian community have joined the research so far.
