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63% of corporate India is overweight

Retail sector employees eat the fattiest food, financial services workers are least active. Across sectors, evening snacks are the unhealthiest

Pankti Mehta Kadakia
Published: Sep 10, 2019 04:44:56 PM IST
Updated: Sep 10, 2019 04:51:09 PM IST

63% of corporate India is overweightImage: Shutterstock

At a time when the government is making concerted efforts to tackle India’s health issues with its Fit India Movement, a new report shows that a whopping 63 percent of corporate India is overweight, or has a body-mass index greater than 23. The report, conducted by health and fitness app HealthifyMe, surveyed the diet and activity levels of about 60,000 working professionals—factory workers, sales professionals, IT professionals and bankers among others—over 12 months in top cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. It also assessed those working in remote locations such as Jhagadiya (Gujarat), Khandala (Maharashtra) and Vapi (Gujarat). Those surveyed in the report—released on September 3—are in the 21 to 60 age group.

63% of corporate India is overweight
Tushar Vashisht, co-founder and CEO, HealthifyMe, says, “It is a matter of serious concern that so many executives across sectors are inactive and overweight. With people spending half their lives in offices, it is time for corporate India to take responsibility for the fitness of their teams. Not only would this result in a fitter workplace, but also a happier, more focussed and productive one.” 

The report shows that running is the most popular form of exercise for both men and women. However, while men prefer activities such as cycling, gym workouts and swimming, women tend more towards indoor workouts such as yoga and walking on the treadmill. Snacks are the biggest diet killers for most professionals, and contain the highest percentage of fat and carbohydrates. An interesting observation from the survey is that dinner is the healthiest meal of the day, with the highest amount of protein. It is also low on fats and carbs, making it the most balanced meal of the day.

63% of corporate India is overweight

(This story appears in the 27 September, 2019 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)

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