India’s rapid economic growth could be slowed by a sharp rise in the prevalence of heart disease, stroke and diabetes, and the successful information technology industry is likely to be the hardest hit, a study has found.
So-called lifestyle diseases are estimated to have wiped $9bn off the country’s national income in 2005, but the cost could reach more than £100bn over the next 10 years if corrective action is not taken soon, the report claims.
The study by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations says that although India’s boom has brought spiralling corporate profits and higher incomes for employees, it has also led to a surge in workplace stress and lifestyle diseases. The health minister, Anbumani Ramadoss, said his biggest concern was the IT industry, which has grown rapidly on the boom in international outsourcing in recent years.
“It’s the fastest-growing industry in our country, but it is most vulnerable to lifestyle diseases,” Mr Ramadoss said. “Its future growth could be stunted if we don’t address the problem now.”
Long working hours, night shifts and a sedentary lifestyle make people employed at such companies prone to heart disease and diabetes, the report said. There have also been growing reports of depression and family breakdown in the industry.
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Despite an impressive economic growth trajectory and a trillion-dollar economy, India still has reasons to worry about the future health of its economy.
According to a joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) report released for last week’s World Health Assembly in Geneva, India will lose a staggering US$237 billion by 2015 due to the impact of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, strokes and cancer and because of its unhealthy workplaces.
The report “Preventing Communicable Diseases in the Workplace through Diet and Physical Activity” states that the financial loss to the Indian exchequer due to lifestyle ailments will surge from $8.7 billion in 2005 to $54 billion in 2015. The report – based on data collected from the WHO’s 193 member nations – had set 73 health parameters in countries around the world. It concluded that chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and respiratory infections – all ailments of long duration and slow progression – will severely impact people’s earnings in the future.
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India would have the maximum number of cardiac patients by 2020 if indians do not resolve to change their lifestyle at the earliest. The above warning has been issued by leading Cardiologists in the country.
Stress, bad eating habits and the growing number of diabetic patients are contributing to the increasing incidence of heart ailments. About eight percent of india’s population now suffers from heart diseases.
‘Since heart disease is primarily a lifestyle ailment, there is a need to change habits and patterns,’ said Praveen Chandra, director (cardiology) at the Max Heart and Vascular Institute.
‘In urban areas people are stressed out in trying to achieve something extra. Youngsters are working overtime, literally burning the midnight oil to do better in academics and their work sphere. Increasingly, it is the younger generation which is becoming vulnerable to the disease,’ Chandra told IANS on the sidelines of a workshop on cardiovascular disease for doctors.
The disease earlier affected people in the post retirement age group. But in recent times people in younger age groups were also becoming victims. Youngsters in their early 20s have begun to die due to cardiac problems.
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The iAlive story – How a group of young selfless Indians are trying to bring about a health revolution in the country.
It all started with a few young working professionals enjoying their Friday evenings with “good food” in Mumbai. Topics ranged from girls to drinks to food to India. These were the same people who were in college a year back. Nishant, the founder of iAlive, was one of them. Since childhood, he has been an active sports person, and topped most exams in his life. Tasting success in all aspects of his life, he aspired to reach higher goals. Given his wide interests, he was involved with many activities in college and school. The resulting busy schedule forced him to eat junk food outside. Although he predominantly ate at home and was a sports person, he had started developing bad habits of eating out regularly. With his credentials, he got a well paying job after his education. But, exercising reduced, eating junk food increased, health silently worsened. But, everything seemed fine, until…
One fine day at the age of 23, Nishant was not feeling well. He felt a slight pain in his left arm and leg. On further reading up, he thought he might be suffering from some heart disease. He did tell his family and people around him. But, people mocked him, because people think young people cannot get a heart attack. Moreover, he wasn’t obese and the way we Indians look at heart diseases, he got the usual “you aren’t obese, you don’t have to worry about your health”. But, Nishant knew something was wrong. So, he went up to the local health care center and got a full body health check up done.
The results stunned everyone. On seeing a cholesterol level reading of 260, the doctor exclaimed that Nishant was lucky to even be alive. The trauma of his father passing away at an early age due to the same ailment came back to haunt them. His aspirations to do something great in life suffered a fatal blow. He could have been depressed and taken it as a huge setback in his life. The exercising habits he had developed in his childhood, a strict diet and a strong determination helped him reduce his cholesterol soon. He ran miles to reduceanother 10 kgs.
His zest for life and optimistic outlook helped him find a solution for his problem. More importantly, it made him realize that he can help several others too with his vision and skills. He and his friends realized the grave danger lifestyle diseases pose to people’s lives. They each vowed to do his bit for this cause. They did not want any family to go through the sorrow of losing a family member through lifestyle diseases, which it was obvious can easily be prevented!
Team iAlive looked around. India was changing. The days of their childhood weren’t mired with the plethora of burger and pizza places, fast food joints, bars and farsan shops like today. The progressive vibes of the Indian economy had brought in a sea of foreign investment. India, led by highly skilled and hardworking work force, was marching towards being a developed nation. But, the stress levels of the common man were increasing. The newly found Indian consumerism led to a huge change in people’s eating and living habits. Their lifestyle was changing, but their body was not quite able to adapt to these changes. The health of the people was being negatively affected. Indians were already very susceptible to lifestyle diseases. But now there were regular stories of youngsters in early 20s dying of heart attacks. Team iAlive was appalled by the state of affairs and the ignorance of the people around them. People were consuming junk food without any regard to the consequences. Ignorant people mock at others’ healthy living habits. They still do. People do not realize the severity of the situation until it strikes them.
We couldn’t bear to see what was going on around us. So we went about trying to find out how we could help improve the current situation. After analyzing some of the current health initiatives in India, we found that these initiatives were largely ineffective in reaching out to the UNINITIATED. We felt it was our moral duty to form iAlive. The following analysis shows how the foundations for iAlive’s movement were laid.
Firstly, there is a valid focus on providing expensive medical treatment to current patients, suffering from lifestyle diseases. However, these diseases and costs can be prevented by simple tweaks in lifestyle. Hence, iAlive is focused on prevention rather than cure.
Secondly, current means of health awareness do not reach out to the uninitiated. NGOs conduct lectures at third party locations, which are attended mostly by people who are already afflicted. There are many websites/blogs which educate people about healthy living. But, these solutions have been largely ineffective in reaching out to the UNINITIATED population, especially young guys. Lifestyle diseases are a culmination of how a person has been living since birth. So these living habits need to be inculcated in a person since childhood. To uproot the cause at the grass-root level, iAlive reaches out to uninitiated people through their seminars at educational institutions and work places. They have built a platform wherein they can manage and educate thousands of volunteers, who can then conduct seminars on their own.
Furthermore, people are averse to change, especially in lifestyle. Current health initiatives educate people in an amiable way. To help people change habits, a striking campaign is needed. Hence, iAlive aims to awaken people by showing them the grave impact of lifestyle diseases on themselves, their loved ones and their country.
Lastly, the uninitiated are bombarded with an avalanche of garbled information! People hear random unverified health tips from neighbouring aunties, friends and colleagues. Overwhelmed, the common man ends up rudderless to start leading a healthy life. To help people get started, iAlive has made a pragmatic one page Health manual, after consultations with nutritionists and doctors. This health manual acts as a starting guide to help people change their unhealthy habits and start leading a healthy life.
With the above initial analysis in hand, Team iAlive went about charting out the movement’s plan. We had worked together during college festivals and were capable enough to start this movement. But, none of us were medical professionals. So, we approached health organizations to help them make the health manual. We found our support in Health Education Library for People and Manipal Cure and Care. We worked out an effective plan to spread the iAlive message. We launched a website, conducted seminars, and built a mass education platform. iAlive team members were finding it difficult to manage iAlive with their full time jobs. To take iAlive to another scale, we inspired students. These highly motivated students helped take iAlive to another level. iAlive encourages youngsters in every corner of this nation to come forward and help save a few lives, using the health manual.
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