Medical experts are now reporting that smartphones are leading to physical changes in the human body.

Although many cellular operators have been citing studies that have suggested that the use of mobile devices such as cell phones are safe for human health, medical experts are indicating that changes are occurring in the human body among people who use these gadgets.

Among the changes that medical experts have pointed out are those made to the metabolism.

According to Maulana Azad Medical College radiation oncology professor, Manoj Sharma, “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.” Sharma spoke at the India International Center, where there was a discussion on “Mobile Phone Radiation and Health”.

Sharma pointed out that there had not been any solid research on the long term health impacts of mobile devices.

Mobile devices and the human bodySharma discussed the idea that the close proximity of a cellular phone to the brain while it is being used could increase the risk of the development of a brain tumor. “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 said.

He went on to say that he feels that mobile operators in India should use technology similar to that being used in the United States, which reduces radiation exposure of the human body by smartphones.

At the event, another Maulana Azad College professor, Naresh Gupta, added that “It is true that the metabolism in the body is affected by using mobile phones.” He explained that these gadgets are an evolving technology and that the majority of the research that has been conducted with respect to their health impacts was conducted through the funding of the private companies that manufacture those devices in the first place. “We don’t have any independent research.”

That said, it was also pointed out by All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) plastic surgeon, S.B. Gogia, that mobile devices could also have a positive impact on health, if the indirect benefits of these gadgets are considered. He said that there have many situations in which “lives have been saved in case of accidents and other medical emergencies due to mobile phones.”