24 per cent Indians struggling with stress: GOQii India Fit Report 22-23, Health News, ET HealthWorld
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24 per cent Indians struggling with stress: GOQii India Fit Report 22-23
Since last year, job losses, pay cuts and mental health issues have become more common. With the economy in a state of flux, many people are worried about their future prospects. People are unable to deal with or find ways to tackle the situation. This has led to a lot of anxiety and stress. The survey also indicates that the percentage of women stressing has increased from 25 per cent in 2021. One of the reasons attributed to women is pressure to balance family, work and health issues.
ETHealthWorld
March 03, 2023, 18:13 IST
Mumbai: Indians are stressed due to the ongoing layoffs from various corporations today. According to the GOQii India Fit Report 22-23's Stress & Mental Health Study conducted among 10,000+ Indians, the current workplace environment and financial instability have become the top two major factors affecting stress levels among Indians. The survey, which is part of the India Fit Report 22-23 titled Game-Changing Health & Wellbeing Revolution in India indicates that a staggering 24 per cent Indians are struggling with stress.
The survey was conducted to understand how Indians are coping post-COVID and if stress levels have increased or decreased. 26 per cent Indians are stressed due to their current work situation and 17 per cent due to financial instability. 14 per cent are stressed due to relationship troubles. The current work environment has become stressful with long working hours, lack of job security, low wages, and growing competition.
Since last year, job losses, pay cuts and mental health issues have become more common. With the economy in a state of flux, many people are worried about their future prospects. People are unable to deal with or find ways to tackle the situation. This has led to a lot of anxiety and stress. The survey also indicates that the percentage of women stressing has increased from 25 per cent in 2021. One of the reasons attributed to women is pressure to balance family, work and health issues.
Speaking about the study, Vishal Gondal, Founder & CEO of GOQii said, Our study indicates that the current economic and financial instability is creating unprecedented stress among people who are struggling to stay afloat in a rapidly changing world. The mounting uncertainty is the basis of the high-stress levels which can be controlled with a balanced diet, changes in lifestyle and appropriate sleep patterns.
Lifestyle diseases are rapidly becoming a major health issue in India, with 24 per cent of Indians suffering from high blood pressure according to the survey. The report indicates that lifestyle illnesses over the last 3 years are consistently on the rise with diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and thyroid being the four most common lifestyle problems among people in 2022.
The report is based on a holistic health survey of 6 million users to understand and delve deeper into how Indians are maintaining heart health and managing other parameters such as lifestyle diseases, BMI, nutrition, water, stress, sleep etc.
High blood pressure still tops the chart. High cholesterol is another silent killer which has seen an increase. People with high cholesterol have increased from 16 per cent in 2020 to 18 per cent in 2022. People with diabetes have increased from 15 per cent in 2020 to 17 per cent in 2022. The report indicates that 7 per cent of people are suffering from thyroid-related issues, out of which women are more affected by it than men. This has not changed over the years. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, cholesterol, thyroid, and high blood pressure are responsible for 80 per cent of all deaths worldwide.
Another cause for concern is the health status of India. The report revealed that nearly half of the Indian population suffers from unhealthy lifestyle habits, an alarming statistic that is cause for immediate concern.
As per the health risk assessment (HRA) score, around 48 per cent of Indians are in the borderline or unhealthy category in 2022 as far as their health status goes as compared to last years figures where 43 per cent of Indians fell in the unhealthy category. While Indias average BMI falls well within the normal range at 21.9, however, data indicates that among adults 17 per cent are obese and there is a 2 per cent increase in obesity among young adults. 1 per cent are in the high-risk segment which means that the majority of people can become healthy by making a few adjustments to their lifestyle.
As per the health status classification based on cities, Patna (60 per cent), Kolkata (56 per cent), Ahmedabad, Bhopal and Chandigarh 55 per cent and 53 per cent of their population are unhealthy than the rest of the cities. Ahmedabad has dropped as a healthy city from 65 per cent of its population healthy in 2021 to 45 per cent in 2022 and its unhealthy percentage of the population has increased to 55 per cent. Kolkatas unhealthy population has increased from 48 per cent in 2021 to 56 per cent in 2022. Indore (64 per cent) and Surat (67 per cent) have the highest percentage of healthy people.
As part of the annual report, a cardiac survey among 4000 users was conducted to understand the heart health of Indians. The survey was conducted as a result of the number of reported sudden heart attacks among celebrities, sporty young adults and adults in India increased between 2021-22.
The report indicates that 29 per cent of the respondents exercise 5-6 days a week and almost 27 per cent exercise 2-4 days a week. The survey also took into account the users' active lifestyle, nutrition, sleep cycle, stress, and comorbid conditions that can determine the heart health of the user. This survey was conducted on the GOQii platform and has a positive outcome in terms of cardiac health parameters.
The report shows the probability of developing heart disease is associated with unhealthy dietary patterns, lack of exercise, obesity, stress, alcohol consumption, smoking habit etc. Sleep is also an important part of our overall health, and lack of sleep can profoundly impact our cardiovascular health. Some people who suffer from sleep apnoea, a disorder in which a person frequently stops breathing during sleep, have an increased risk of developing heart disease.
The cardiac survey indicates, around 58 per cent of the respondents said they sleep 7-8 hours daily which is a good sign of healthy living, 38 per cent said they sleep 5-6 hours daily and about 2 per cent said they sleep 4 or fewer hours.
25 per cent of the users who took the cardiac survey said that they have a history of one family member with cardiac disease. 8 per cent said they have a history of more than one family member with heart disease and 2 per cent said they have a history of extended family members who have suffered from heart disease. A larger chunk of 65 per cent of respondents said that there was no family history at all.
34 per cent respondents
Friday, March 3, 2023 at 12:43 pm