Lifestyle diseases, cases of obesity and cholesterol irregularities on the rise: Report

As much as 1.5 billion adults and nearly 400 million children are expected to be living with obesity in 12 years

India has experienced a massive spike in lifestyle diseases, including an increase in the prevalence of early risk factors like obesity and cholesterol irregularities, between 2019 and 2022, says the Health of the Nation 2023 report by Apollo Hospitals.

The report, based on data generated from preventive health check-ups and analysed using Artificial Intelligence (AI), shows that while the risk for obesity rose by 50 percent in the period, it increased 18 percent for cholesterol irregularities.

Significantly, the silent epidemic of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) may be behind 40 percent of all hospitalization cases.

Over the past three decades, NCDs have become the leading cause of death and suffering, contributing 65 percent of deaths in India, said Prathap Reddy, chairman of Apollo Hospitals - India’s largest corporate health chain.

NCDs affect not only health, but also productivity and economic growth; the estimated economic burden on India is expected to be about $4.8 trillion by 2030, Reddy added.

The increasing trend signals an increase rise in early risk factors.

Preventive screening

A higher number of preventive screenings has also led to an increase in the diagnosis of early risk factors like obesity and dyslipidemia (cholesterol irregularities) among Indians across age groups.

These are indications of the potential onset of chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension and may be a wake-up call for individuals to make early shifts in their lifestyle behaviour.

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While a 50 percent increase was noticed in the prevalence of obesity, there has also been a 43 percent uptick in diagnosis in those aged below 45 years and 60 percent in people aged above 45.

Dyslipidemia, a condition that can result from diet and genetic factors or tobacco exposure, which recorded an 18 percent increase, was fueled by a 35 percent increase in its prevalence among those over 45 years of age.

Along with these early risk factors, the report also found a rise in the prevalence of conditions like diabetes and hypertension which grew by 8 and 11 percent respectively between 2019-22.

There is also an increasing risk of hypertension among Indians aged over 45 years, its prevalence in diagnosis having increased from 14 to 16 percent in the last 3 years.

Sleep issues, impaired metabolism

Healthy sleep is an important indicator of overall health. In one study of 20,000 people, 47 percent had problems sleeping and 52 percent displayed impairments in their mental health. On person 1 in 3 had both issues.

Also, two out of three individuals did not observe an optimal gap between dinner and bedtime, which is critical for good quality sleep. It is either less than one hour or more than two hours, both leading to sub-optimal sleep quality.

The analysis found that 64 percent of people had digestive irregularities, going up to 81 percent among diabetics.

Many ‘Indias’ in one India

India’s diversity in lifestyle has led to the emergence of different NCD trends across regions, likely impacted by regional diet preferences, the report said.

While liver disease was maximally prevalent in the East (50 percent), its lowest impact relatively was in the South (28 percent). The Western parts, on the other hand, had relatively the lowest prevalence of diabetes (15 percent), while the South had the highest (27 percent).

Obesity trends, however, were similar across regions, ranging between 22 and 24 percent, and cholesterol irregularities had the highest prevalence across all regions, with North India seeing the most (48 percent), followed by the West (41 percent), East (39 percent) and South (37 percent).