Today, diseases have stopped showing affinity merely towards elderly and are inflicting the young equally - all thanks to the unhealthy lifestyle and eating habits of the new-gen!

Studies and surveys reflect that smoking, alcohol consumption and stress related disorders are key health issues among the youth. Approximately, 150 million young people smoke or are using tobacco products and unfortunately the number is continuously on the rise. Alarming and disturbing but indeed true!

What and whom to blame?

In the pursuit of climbing the steep professional ladder and to cope up with the demands of maintaining a high-end lifestyle, people are working long and erratic hours, succumb to social obligations (and pressure) of causal smoking/drinking and end up eating unhealthy food. Sedentary lifestyle is part and parcel of the indoor work culture.

All this and much more make an ideal, unhealthy recipe for your body which results in alluring a host of lifestyle disease like diabetes, heart ailments, high blood pressure, cancers and many others.

The way out - lifestyle modification!

Expecting changes in the work culture or changing the job itself may not be practically possible but what's doable is making small modifications in the lifestyle with immediate effect.

The trick is to do it unintentionally.

• Take stairs than elevator
• Park your car at the farthest possible spot from the entrance
• Play an outdoor game with children, swim or cycle
• Swap butter to margarine
• Cut down on sugar and fat in food
• Do any physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day
• Consume at least 2-3 litters of water daily
• Sleep enough, stress less

Regular health checkups - Key to wellness

In their 20s and 30s, people are usually not much concerned about or give attention to their health status. Ofcourse, when they are young, the body is stronger, high in immunity and physically fit. But does it actually promise absence of diseases which give no apparent symptoms in early stages like high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, heart diseases, certain cancers or diabetes?

The fact is being young does not guarantee a healthy you. Regular preventive medical checkup is a great tool to catch diseases in their initial stages and take preventive measures against their flare up. Early detection helps in effective treatment and better management of the condition.