Life style changes of Indian families & its impact on Health

Head, department of preventive cardiology, Arihant hospital & RC, Indore Demographic & Socioeconomic changes influence the living & working ha its of populations! "conomic growth, moderni#ation, ur ani#ation & sociali#ation has changed the life style of Indian families! The transition from a traditional to modern lifestyle, consumption of diets rich in fat and calories combined with a high level of mental stress has compounded the problem further. $ith a shift in eating ha its & the adoption of a sedentary life style has lead to the increasing prevalence of life style diseases like % esity, Dia etes, Hypertension,Coronary heart disease, &eta olic syndrome and Cancer, all across India in the last few decades! Apart from that India is facing economic urden also! WHO estimates that mortality from diabetes, heart disease and stroke costs about $2 ! billion in "ndia in the year 2!!#. $uch of the heart disease and stroke in these estimates was linked to diabetes. WHO estimates that diabetes, heart disease and stroke together will cost about $ %%%.& billion over the ne't ! years in "ndia alone. Prevalence of diabetes in India : It was reported to e '!() in *+,-, **!. ) in *++' and had gone up to */!+) in (000

Recent data suggest a significant load of dia etes cases in India, rising from (!0 crore in (000 to -!. crore y (0*'! Prevalence of hypertension: It was -) in *+'- , **) in *+,- and went up to (')in *++- in 1r an area and *0) in rural area! Prevalence of obesity: In a study from south India it was (2!() in ur an area and ( ) in rural area in *+,+, went up to /0) in (000 in ura an and *2) in rural population! Similarly in Delhi female population it was /-!-) in *++- went up to -,!. in the year *+++! "ven childhood o esity is on the rise in India, according to Asia 3acific 4 of Clinical 5utrition

it was reported to e *(!-) in oys and +!+) in girls etween the age group of +6*' yrs! Prevalence of coronary heart disease: It is also on the rise, study y Dr! 7!7! Sethi in (00( , it was -) in *+.0, .!') in *+., and went up to **) in (00* in ur an population of India!8here is alarming pro9ection from $orld Health %rgani#ation that sedentary lifestyle could very well e among the *0 leading causes of death and disa ility in the world and y the year (0(0, seven million Indians will die of life style diseases! :ife style changes in families are related with physical activity, food ha its and to acco consumption ; smoking! 8hese are mainly due to 66 affluence ur ani#ation mechani#ation 1r ani#ation in India is on the rise! In *+0* it was **), in *+'* it ecame *2!.) and y (00*, (2!,) people were living in ur an area! 8echnological advances, while making life easy, encouraged sedentary way of living, paving way for lifestyle diseases! India<s rapid economic growth could e slowed y the sharp rise in the prevalence of heart disease , dia etes and stroke and the successful information technology is likely to e the hardest hit! :ong working hours, night shifts and a sedentary life style are the main cause! 8here has een a growing reports of depression and family reakdown also! A lot of men seem to complain a out too many usiness trips where they have to e away from their family! It is seen as a negative if you have to travel e=tensively! >or many, a sedentary lifestyle is not a choice ut a result!

Almost -2) of the workforce in Indian industries, especially in ur an areas, were found to e overweight while around (2) were suffering from hypertension! Around *0) of those surveyed were also found to e dia etic

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@ecause of computer games, gi#mos and other indoor activities, children are spending lesser time playing sports! 8hey urn less calories and thus tend to gain weight! Along with sedentary lifestyle, there is also academic pressure that our children face every day! 8here is homework, tuitions, e=ams, grades etc to worry a out and these pressures often result in less physical activity 8oday, children lead sedentary lives and even parents donAt have the time to play with children %utings now are more a out going to malls, not gardens ; parks $atching 8B most of the time

F$$% HA'I"! : CHANGING !C NA&I$ *+'0s6*+.0s people used to ate at home (6/ times;day and ecause of rapid transformation in the lifestyle of Indians, particularly those living in ur an India, has resulted in dramatic increase in the demand for processed food! 8he main reason why processed food is luring the ur an Indians is the convenience that it offers to cooking, as they don<t need to spend hours in kitchen to get that appeti#ing food! Crowth in working women<s population and prevalence of nuclear families with dou le income are other trends causing this change in the lifestyle of Indians! Also, increase in overseas travel and the presence of foreign media in the country has resulted in more Indians opting for processed food! >or instance, in (00', a ove ' million Indians had traveled a road and the num er is likely to rise y *') to (0) every year! 8hese trends have largely impacted the Indian food6processing sector, as there<s een a 9ump in the demand for processed, ready6to6eat and ready6to6cook food! Amount of money spent y Indian on foods outside home has een assessed to have more than dou led over the last ten years to nearly D'@illion a year! Also, it<s likely to dou le in the five years to come &ole of (edia: >amous media personalities endorse aerated drinks, fried foods like chips that give nothing ut emple calories! Children take these personalities as their role models and ape them! Advertising gimmic)s:

>ree gifts given with chips, chocolate etc! encourage kids as well as parents to uy foods that they donAt reEuire! &odern life style induces people to eat more than their odies need even if they are aware of pitfalls! At the cru= of the food crisis is a psychological disorder out of affluence! 3eople eing out of tune with their own odies!8he share of hotels & restaurants has increased from *-!/) of CD3 in (006(00* to (' ) in (0026 0,! 3acked food industry is growing at a out (0) ;annum! A growing num er of people are not taking the right decisions on how much & what to eat! 8here are indications that dietary distortions are on the rise in India! Rising number of birth day parties, Kitty parties, marriage anniversaries, outdoor meals, food corners, pizza huts and Macdonalds are the effects of economic growth, Modernization, urbanization and socialization ! %ietary changes that ta)e place as Indian pop*lations move *p the socio+economic scale areF! Increased intake of legumes, vegeta les , milk, animal fat Su stitution of coarse grain y polished grains resulting in the decreased fi er intake Increase intake of edi le fat with increasing consumption of saturated hydrogenated fat in the middle class and Indian ghee in the more prosperous segments Increase intake of calories & sweets Increase in overall intake of energy in relation to the e=penditure resulting in o esity

%emographic changes and !mo)ing , "obacco *se ? 8here has een a marked increase in ur ani#ation in India! 8he affluence as measured y per capita net domestic product, growth of production & human development inde= has also increased!8he average annual growth rate in gross domestic product GCD3H wasI/!-) in *+206,0, '!-) in *+,06+* and ,) in recent years! Smoking and to acco use ecame a fashion statement in the mid of the last century! 8his phase was characterised y a large increase in its consumption which was driven y prevalent attitudes and morals! 8he 3opulations of low & middle income countries have een increasing their cigarette consumption since a out *+20! 8he per capita annual consumption in terms of cigarettes increased from *+20 up to *++(!@ut there is evidence of slow down since then! Studies in ur an & rural populations reported a high prevalence of to acco use among the illiterate as compared to that in literates It seems that improving the literacy levels can reduce the to acco consumption

P!#CH$L$GICAL !"& !!? $ith economic growth, &oderni#ation, 1r ani#ation, Sociali#ation and gar age of information there seems to e more depression, more family reakdown, more sucides, homicides! Bisits to psychitrist is on the rise! ! -.AL H AL"H : 5ew lifestyle affects India<s se=ual health also! India is reporting more se=ual disorders, divorces and e=tra6marital affairs, according to some leading se=ologists! 3ro lems related to se= were due to changing food ha its, lack of e=ercise, unusual work hours and more stress! C$NCL.!I$N : :ife style changes in families has a ma9or impact on the health of the nation! In past few decade we have witnessed a rapid transformation in the lifestyle of Indians, particularly those living in ur an India! "conomic growth, moderni#ation, ur ani#ation & sociali#ation has changed the life style of Indian families! $ith a shift in eating ha its & the adoption of a sedentary life style that has resulted in rapid escalation of lifestyle diseases with alarming pro9ection y $H% that y (0(0, seven million Indians may die of lifestyle diseases! "limination of these risk factors can prevent666Dia etes, stroke, heart disease y ,0) and cancer y -0)! Its time to act now to adopt a healthy life style in the families y healthy diet, regular e=ercise, no to acco and stress control and say no to drugs! /Leave yo*r dr*gs in the chemist0s pot if yo* can heal the patient 1ith food2 Hippocrates c460-c360 BC & F & NC ! :
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