Inspite of health and wellbeingas priority, one-third of the Indians over 30 years of age suffer from lifestyle diseases: Goqii ‘India Fit’ 2017 report

Bangalore, May 01, 2017: GOQii, the world’s leading health eco-system and preventive health platform, unveiled its ‘GOQii India Fit’ 2017 report aimed at providing an insight into the lifestyle of Indians as they strive to walk the path of health and fitness. The report focuses on various lifestyle diseases prevalent in the country and the cities most affected by these diseases. It also highlights the fitness levels of Indians across various cities and areas of concern in their lifestyles such as diet, sleep pattern and stress levels.

As per the GOQii India Fit’ 2017 report, 33% of the Indian population above 30 years of age is suffering from one or more lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, cardiac problems including high cholesterol, blood pressure, thyroid and Cancer. Close to 9.4% people are suffering from high cholesterol followed by 7.7% suffering from diabetes and 6.76% people suffering from thyroid.

Maximum doctor consultations are taking place in the areas of general medicine which includes digestive disorders such as acidity and constipation. While people are increasingly moving towards remote doctor consultation for all their health issues, of this 30 % of individuals are largely consulting for general medicine for issues such as fever, cold and cough, fatigue, aches and pains of various body parts and for preventive health care to discuss their health test reports. Of the 30% close to 10% are consulting for digestive disorders. 18% population is consulting the doctor for lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. Most individuals do go on medication but, their lifestyle is not seeing a change as no one is telling them that lifestyle changes are important.

Commenting on the report, Vishal Gondal, CEO and Founder GOQii said, “Over the years, there has been an increase in the number of chronic diseases due to the disruptive lifestyle changes in the country. Lack of exercise, erratic eating habits, increase in stress levels and poor sleep patterns are just some of the key reasons behind the increase of this epidemic’’.

Of all the age groups, senior citizens are the most affected by lifestyle diseases. Over 67% of senior citizens suffer from one or more diseases like thyroid, high cholesterol, diabetes and cardiac problems. According to the data, males are the victims of diabetes, cholesterol and cardiac related problems while women have issues related to low BP and thyroid. Women also tend to suffer from issues around bloating and constipation in India.

Kolkata earns the tag of being the unhealthiest city in India. The majority of the population in Kolkata suffers from lifestyle diseases related to stress, cardiovascular ailments and digestive disorders. Kolkata also tops the chart with the highest number of digestive disorders.Cities like Chennai, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad have maximum cases of obesity amongst Indians. “Although awareness around the use of medication amongst people has increased, their lifestyle is still the same as there is no one to tell them the benefits of lifestyle change’’, points out Vishal Gondal.

As per the report, average daily step count of an individual across India is 7746 steps, a steady increase over last year’s figure of 6800 step counts. However, recommended daily step count by World Health Organization to lead a healthy lifestyle is 10,000 steps. Based on this estimate, Bengaluruis the most active city followed by Mumbai and Pune. Daily average step count in Bengaluruis 7915. Younger population (below 35 years age bracket) in Bengaluru and Chennai is more active as compared to people in other cities.

‘’Change in the weather also affects the activity and hydration levels in people. Activity levels were found to be lowest in April which was the hottest month and highest in February which was relatively colder. Water intake by people was also at its lowestin February,’’ says Vishal Gondal.

While people understand the significance of a healthy meal in their life, 20% skip their meals regularly and this meal is typical breakfast. Mid meals, consumption of fruits, and a light dinner are some of the other issues that Indians need to focus. Lack of fibre in meals is also an area of concern across India. Since 44% of the population is vegetarian, lack of protein in thediet is also an area of concern. Ahmedabad is increasingly moving towards eating a healthier breakfast.

GOQii India Fit’ 2017 report indicates that an average Indian sleeps for 6.72 hours every day which is less than a healthy average of 7-9 hours daily. Lack of proper sleep is a grave concern for 31.3% population. And with age, India is sleeping lesser by the day. This coupled with thelack of exercise and increase in stress is adding to the cause of falling health levels of Indians. People in the age group of 31-60 years are the most stressed people in the country.

As per the report, men across category are focused on staying active with weight training, playing sports and running apart from adding more protein and pre and post workout meals to their diet. Women, on the other hand, are focused on weight management and eating healthy. Women also prefer dance, yoga and aerobics as part of thedaily exercise.

Overall, the report recognises the fact that Indians are trying to improve their lifestyle but a lot is yet to be done. Eating right and exercising regularly is the first step in the right direction. ‘’It is encouraging to see that young Indians are increasingly focusing more on preventive health and controlling illnesses as they age. I hope that through such initiatives, we are able to motivate more people to adopt a healthy lifestyle,’’ says Vishal Gondal.

Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)