More than words of encouragement, what this calls for is policy intervention and investment in building the right environment and infrastructure.
Alarm bells about the growing burden of non-communicable diseases in India have been ringing for a few years now. Study after study has found that obesity and lifestyle-related illnesses are claiming more lives than ever, and are no longer solely prevalent in urban areas. They have begun to affect rural populations as well. Bringing the big picture of ill-health into sharper focus is new data published in the Lancet Global Health this week, according to which an alarming 57 per cent women and 42 per cent men in India fail to meet the World Health Organisation’s guidelines for sufficient physical activity. Should this trend remain unchecked, it is estimated that by 2030, about 60 per cent of India’s adult population would be at risk of diseases like cardiovascular ailments, diabetes and even dementia and cancer of the breast and colon.
While there is certainly a greater awareness of the link between exercise and other physical activities and good health, a combination of sociocultural, economic and physical infrastructure-related factors is responsible for the sedentary lifestyle of a large number of Indians. Research on the impact of social and cultural attitudes is limited, but the handful of region- and city-specific surveys that do exist indicate that these form a significant barrier, especially for women and girls. A 2018 study of physical activity among adolescents in New Delhi found that social censure was a key obstacle. Another study from 2015, looking at barriers to exercise among women in Thiruvananthapuram, found the prevalence of the belief that household chores alone can count as sufficient physical activity. That a mindset change is needed has been recognised by, among others, the Union government which, in 2019, initiated the Fit India movement to “promote fitness as easy, fun and free” and “spread awareness…through fitness-focused campaigns”.
The limitations of this approach, however, are evident in its failure to recognise the most formidable hurdle facing Indians who want to be fitter — the lack of a conducive, physical environment in which to be more active. While gyms and fitness centres are not affordable options for a vast majority of Indians, the simple activity of walking too is not without obstacles, with broken pavements, open sewers, erratic traffic and lack of safety discouraging many. Addressing this, as the head of the WHO Unit for Physical Activity has pointed out, requires “a whole-of-society” approach, one which sees open spaces, pothole-free roads and pavements, safety and low pollution levels as crucial to the goal of a fitter citizenry. More than words of encouragement, what this calls for is policy intervention and investment in building the right environment and infrastructure.
