One third of Indians are careless about their health

Even though 91% Indians consider health a priority and intend to make healthy changes, a study suggests that almost one-third of the population does not care to visit physicians on time.

India’s preventive health provider, recently released a comprehensive report titled HEALTHI INSIGHTS INDIA 2017 based on one million health tests and related data points including health history and lifestyle over a period of 18 months. The report has thrown open the wide gap that exists among Indians between wanting to be healthy and actually taking adequate efforts to achieve the goal.

It also sheds some light on how perceptions regarding health often vary from reality, particularly among younger people. Men from Mumbai (93%) lead the race when it comes to considering health a priority whereas men from Chennai (82%) fare the worst. Women, on the other hand, irrespective of the city that they belong to (Pune 100%, Delhi/NCR 99%, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore 98%, Chennai 97%), are aware of the importance of being healthy.

The contradiction, however, lies in the fact that over 28% of the total population that needs medical help doesn’t visit physicians on time. Obesity is the highest amongst people working in the Retail sector with around 71% women and 83% men suffering from it.

High cholesterol is another prominent condition plaguing the working population. It is often triggered by a faulty diet, stress, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking and drinking. The study also finds that 20% of the population lives a sedentary lifestyle and therefore is at a two times higher risk of getting coronary heart disease.

Overall, 91% of the women currently do not screen for cervical cancer and 88% for breast cancer, both ailments where timely detection and treatment can help save lives.