Sweet Truth: Is WFH making you diabetic?

After working from home for a little over two years, he and his team recently returned to the office, but even now, they follow a hybrid model of only three-days a week at the office. So, Aditya, a gym enthusiast before the pandemic, who would walk almost a km to his office from the metro station every day, counting his steps on his smartwatch, continues to lead a not-so-active life.

The result, his doctor says, is high blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

“Though regular exercise or activities have never been part of the lifestyle of most Indians, the work-from-home trend has compounded the problem. Inactivity and stress are two major reasons for lifestyle diseases such as diabetes,” says Dr R M Anjana, Managing Director of Dr. Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre, and lead author of a recent ICMR study that pointed out a 44 per cent increase in the incidence of diabetes and pre-diabetes in the country in the last four years.

This nationwide study estimates about 110 million people to be diabetic and 136 million to be pre-diabetic, a condition which increases the chance of a person developing diabetes manifold.

In 2018, a study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal projected that India may have 98 million diabetics in 2030. The country achieved the figure 7 years before time.

“We diabetologists are worried about how the country is going to manage these many patients. We already have 100 million diabetics. About 2/3 of pre-diabetics will turn diabetic in 5 to 10 years. And diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol all are interlinked. Just imagine the burden of these diseases in the coming year,” says Dr Ambrish Mithal, Chairman, Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Max Healthcare Group. “Unfortunately India is following in the footsteps of Latin American countries rather than learning from their mistakes.”

According to scientific studies, the Indian population is genetically predisposed to developing diabetes and other chronic diseases such as coronary artery disease and high cholesterol. “Our genetic makeup remains the same. So, we need to see what changed in the last four years that has led to this sudden spurt in diabetes cases,” says Dr Anjana.

“We found three major factors — first, the pandemic brought a lot of stress and uncertainty in people’s lives. Second, people were confined to their homes. Working from home also prolonged their work hours in most cases, leading to increased sedentary hours, and disrupted their sleep cycle,” says Dr Anjana, adding, “During the pandemic and after, people got hooked to ordering groceries, vegetables, dairy, everything online, which meant they were not making even the short journey to the neighbourhood market thanks to 10-minute delivery apps. The daily short walks go a long way in keeping a person active and healthy. ”

Experts say even small activities in the office, such as walking up to a colleagues’ desk, stepping out of the office for a cup of tea/ coffee, loo breaks, keep the metabolism going. “The absence of these activities can adversely affect one’s mental and physical health,” says Wanitha Ashok, a Bangalore-based fitness expert and FitIndia ambassador.

Besides, food delivery apps have made ordering food easy from the comfort of your home, says Dr Anoop Mishra, Executive Chairman, Fortis C-DOC Hospital for Diabetes and Allied Sciences. “It means you do not want to curb the slightest craving for food. It has led to an increase in the consumption of high-sugar and high-calorie food, especially among young people,” he says. “ These days, we see more obese youth with or without diabetes, and high prevalence of high triglycerides and liver dysfunction among them.”

What worries doctors more is the fact that the work-from-home (WFH) trend has not ended with the pandemic, and millions of people continue to favour a work-from-home arrangement. About fifty per cent of job applications submitted on Linkedin are for WFH positions. There are many companies that are open to the idea and continue to offer WFH or a hybrid mode of working.

Even younger employees prefer WFH jobs. “Post-pandemic, physical meetings have been replaced by video meetings, and seminars with webinars, for their cost-effectiveness. Two years of online schooling have made children hooked to their laptops and phones. I don’t see many children playing football or other games in the park near my home anymore. We may have to pay a hefty price for this shift in the coming years,” says Dr Vivek Kumar, Chairperson, The Centre for the Studies of Social Systems, JNU, Delhi.

“Going out and meeting people connects us with nature and increases our cognitive abilities. So this restricted-to-gadget lifestyle we are adopting is going to affect social life and mental health in a big way,” he adds.

Doctors too believe that reversing this trend needs some conscious and consistent efforts at an individual and social level. A low-fat, high-fibre diet, at least 30 minutes of daily exercise, regular activity throughout the day, and a disciplined sleep cycle are some simple lifestyle changes one should adopt.

“In India, all our celebrations with family and friends are around food. We order good food and watch a movie. Why can’t we have a good time playing outdoor games, cycling, and eating fruit salad? We need this behavioural change at the level of the family and the society,’’ says Dr Anjana.

However, Dr Mithal insists that for people to choose a healthy lifestyle, the government must offer affordable options. “We cannot make colas cheaper than milk, and a burger more affordable than vegetables and lentils and expect people with limited incomes to eat what is healthier,” he says.

“Similarly, organisations need to know that though remote working offers flexibility and may be cost-effective, it has far-reaching consequences for their employees’ mental and physical health, and eventually the company’s bottom line.”