Professional Communication II - Portfolio 2131366 HARSHITHA GADDE

1 billion (1,00,00,00,000) ie. 100 crore people are obese worldwide today. Next time you feel obese people are an inferior minority, remember this. Thanks to the sedentary lifestyle and the highest intake of fatty and sugary foods, one of the biggest price of urbanisation is our health and we are paying it. Well, we all know the various medical and mental problems that accompany obesity. But today, let’s talk about the double oppressed condition, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). One in every ten women in India have PCOS. I realised this reality only when I interacted with girls in my college. But still, there is a significant lack of awareness or support regarding PCOS. Why? PCOS is a condition where the ovaries produce abnormal amounts of androgens (male sex hormones) against the usual smaller amounts present in women. What do such amounts of androgens do? Increased levels of androgens lead to rise in abdominal fat. The accumulation of abdominal fat increases the risk of insulin...

The causes of death and disability across the world have shifted from nutritional deficiencies and infectious diseases to cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, cancer and other degenerative diseases. CVD is the term given to disorders of heart and blood vessels. CVD cases across the globe are increasing like never before. Today, CVDs are the leading cause of death globally. 80% deaths due to CVD are recorded in low and middle income countries. This makes one wonder about the relation between CVDs and the economical condition of states.  Interestingly, statistics show that the incidence of CVDs increase when countries move from lowest income to low-middle income. This is attributed to the lifestyle changes that follow economic development. Obesity, sedentariness, unhealthy food practices, and low physical activity are some of them. This stems from the decline in employment in the agrarian sector and the dramatic increase in the manufacturing and service-sector. But when the coun...

“Our need will be the real creator”, said Plato in his Republica . Plato was one of the countless thinkers and philosophers across human history who tried to understand the complexity of how humans think and express, especially through literature. Writing has been one of the oldest forms of not just communication but also a tool of creativity and an infinite space for human imagination. Humans have evolved and so has our writing. So much so that today, we have created artificial intelligence to do our expression for us.  Going by what Plato said, what has led to the need to create such artificial interference in our writing? This becomes an important question to ask ourselves. I believe it could be because of two developments. First, is the digital age of information overload we have built, that has consequently led to the drastic reduction in our attention spans. The result is the desperate need for the quickest solutions. What AI does is reduce the days or weeks a writer would pu...

Waking up to coffee, running for classes, challenging limits and committed to uncompromised enjoyment, how much does the GenZ think of sustainability? Surveys show that 75% of Gen Z are increasingly eco-conscious in comparison to the previous generations. Students have been the face of increasing protests against climate change and advocating sustainability to spread awareness among the public. But, what does sustainability mean to a college student? “I believe sustainability is when the value of something I use today lasts for longer, maybe forever”, says Deekshitha, an undergraduate student in Bangalore. When asked how she practices sustainability being aware of the need for it, she said she makes craft out of the coconut shells left after usage. Another undergraduate student, Don Baggio said, “I thrift my clothes, which I think is an efficient way to reduce the demand for new clothes and reusing by choice”. “I try to follow the 5 Rs- Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle. I reu...