Over 80% Ind blame long working hrs as hurdle for heart health

Mumbai: Even as people are aware of the risk parameters, 80 percent respondents said long working hours is the biggest hurdle for not able to do enough for their heart health, according to a study.

“Long working hours (80 percent), long travelling hours (69 percent) is seen as a reason people are not able to do enough for their heart health. This is also an indication for the increasing sedentary lifestyle in India,” according to the Saffolalife Study 2017.

This study was conducted among 1,306 respondents across Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. About 76 per cent Indians feel that job or business stress prevents them from making healthy efforts, while 69 per cent Indians feel that they don’t know where their time goes because they are always on a tablet or phone, it said.

This trend was seen to be similar across age groups contrary to popular belief that use of technology is more in the younger age group, it added. About 74 per cent Indians said they don’t get enough sleep, which is a barrier to their heart health, it added.

It also revealed that 83 per cent Indians said temptation of tasty food is a barrier to heart health. Temptation for tasty food is higher for age group of 35-44 years, it added. The study found that 81 per cent women feel that household work takes up a lot of their time, which is a reason they don’t get time to put in the required efforts to stay healthy.

“While there is a rising awareness about heart health, compliance and action is a big area of concern in India. It is important to adopting ways to stay heart healthy despite changing food habits, long working hours and increase in work stress, which have become part and parcel of our modern day lifestyles.

Our modern lifestyle has made us sedentary, in office, while travelling and even at home,” Lilavati Hospital and Research Institute Senior Endocrinologist and President of Hypertension Society of India Dr Shashank Joshi said. India, he said, is seeing a rise in health conscious individuals as international health trends are leaving impressions at a rapid pace.

“Despite the continuous propagation of leading healthier lives, India continues to see alarming heart health statistics. It’s time we translate this awareness into action, and overcome the barriers that come in the way to stay heart healthy. Identifying these barriers is the first step towards overcoming them,” he added.