Most people believe they are healthy, but new data suggests otherwise. A report titled India's Silent Health Crisis by ekincare, finds that more than one in three people are already at risk of diabetes, obesity, or heart disease.
What makes this concerning is that these risks often appear long before any symptoms show up. The study also highlights widespread vitamin deficiencies and rising cholesterol levels, signalling a growing but largely unnoticed health problem.
What does the ekincare report reveal about India’s health today?
The report by the AI-based corporate health benefits platform studied over 400,000 employee health check-ups conducted across more than 500 cities in India.
The findings highlight a health landscape in the country where risks are developing long before symptoms. According to the data, over one-third of individuals show early markers linked to lifestyle and metabolic diseases.
Key findings include:
- Over 36 per cent of people are vitamin deficient
- Nearly 1 in 3 shows obesity markers
- 31.7 per cent have abnormal cholesterol levels
- Around 1 in 3 are at risk of diabetes
The report categorises risks based on severity. Three stand out as critical, affecting over 30 per cent of individuals:
These fall into the “critical” category, meaning they require immediate population-level intervention and routine screening. Meanwhile, diabetes (24.3 per cent) and iron deficiency (16.4 per cent) fall into an "elevated" category, which is still significant and rising.
The report also revealed that over 14.5 per cent of the sample population have abnormal blood pressure, 13.3 per cent show liver abnormalities, 9.6 per cent have thyroid issues, and 6.4 per cent show kidney-related concerns.
The study also highlighted states emerging as health risk hotspots for various diseases:
- Andhra Pradesh: Highest diabetes risk at 56.9 per cent
- Odisha: Second-highest diabetes risk at 42.5 per cent
- Rajasthan: Highest vitamin deficiency at 43.9 per cent
- Karnataka & Gujarat: High vitamin deficiency (~39.9 per cent)
- Haryana & Karnataka: Highest cholesterol-related risks
Why is this being called a 'silent' health crisis?
According to the authors of the report, these numbers - drawn from routine health check-ups rather than hospital data - suggest that a large proportion of India’s workforce is already on a trajectory towards chronic illness without knowing it. People are working, functioning, and living normally, yet their clinical markers are already abnormal.
Early warning signals include elevated HbA1c, borderline cholesterol, rising BMI, and vitamin deficiencies. Such indicators often precede diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular conditions by years.
This gap between feeling healthy and actually being at risk is what makes the crisis "silent", say the authors.
What’s driving these rising lifestyle diseases?
According to the report, the following are the triggers:
- Sedentary work environments
- Poor dietary habits
- Nutritional gaps (especially Vitamin D and B12)
- Stress and irregular routines
- Lack of routine screenings
The corporate workforce, in particular, appears vulnerable, suggesting that economic growth and urban lifestyles are coming with hidden health costs.
Why is preventive healthcare now critical?
The report stressed that when over 30 per cent of a population shows early abnormalities, waiting for symptoms is no longer viable. Preventive healthcare, which includes regular screenings, lifestyle changes, and early intervention, is no longer optional.
As ekincare’s CEO Kiran Kalakuntla noted in a statement, these are not hospital patients but seemingly healthy individuals whose bodies are already showing warning signs.
"Millions of people are going about their lives without realising that their bodies are already sending out warning signs. This report serves as a reminder that preventive healthcare is not a privilege but an obligation. For employers, for those who make laws, and for all of us," said Kalakuntla.
For individuals, it has now become important that they rethink the idea of "feeling healthy", and regular health check-ups, even in the absence of symptoms, are becoming essential.
 "India's workforce faces surge in metabolic risks, chronic illness: Report")
