Mobile phones cause changes in metabolism

New Delhi: Mobile phones are certainly causing some changes in the human body's metabolism unlike claims made by cellular operators, medical experts have said.

"Cancer is not the only health issue linked to mobile phones. Fatigue, sleep disorder, lack of concentration and poor digestion have been found to be linked with mobile phone usage," said Manoj Sharma, professor of radiation oncology at the Maulana Azad Medical College here.

Speaking at a discussion on "Mobile Phone Radiation and Health" at the India International Centre here on Friday evening, Sharma said that no proper research has been conducted on the long-term health effects of mobile phone usage. He claimed that close proximity to the brain while talking on a mobile phone created a possibility of brain tumour.

"There doesn't seem to be any worry about the looming disaster. If we don't take care now it will be too late like in the case of tobacco," he added. Sharma said that like in the US, cell phone operators in India should use advanced technology to reduce radiation.

Naresh Gupta, another professor at the Maulana Azad College, said: "It is true that the metabolism in the body is affected by using mobile phones." Mobile phones, he said, were an evolving technology and most of the research into their health effects was funded by the private companies manufacturing them. "We don't have any independent research," he said.

However, S.B. Gogia, a plastic surgeon with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), said mobile phones have a positive effect on health also. "Many a times, lives have been saved in case of accidents and other medical emergencies due to mobile phones," he said.