Hyderabad: Food habits have become a centre of crisis in Hyderabad with non-communicable diseases seeing a rise among older adults, as per a recent survey.
However, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) stated that younger age groups are also being increasingly diagnosed with similar ailments.
The recent survey has found that 50 per cent of those above 60 years are living with hypertension, and more than one-fourth below 60 years are having diabetes, and 44 per cent are obese.
Younger adults at risk
Health experts warn that the onset of NCDs is no longer confined to older age. Increasingly, people in their 20s and 30s are being diagnosed with lifestyle-driven conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension, that were once seen much later in life.
The consequences of this premature onset are significant. Living with these diseases for 30 to 40 years dramatically raises the risk of severe health complications and medications typically tolerated by older adults can cause long-term challenges when started decades earlier.
Diet quality at the center of the crisis
At the center of this concerning trend, according to experts, is a familiar factor: diet quality and lifestyle.
“Hyderabad’s dietary patterns, marked by high saturated fat intake and low fibre, combined with increasingly sedentary routines, are accelerating the onset of chronic diseases at younger ages,” stated Dr Zeeshan Ali, a nutrition scientist with the US-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM).
Delivering a lecture to over 750 health sciences students at MNR Medical College, Dr Ali emphasised that whole-food, plant-based diets can meaningfully reduce behavioural and metabolic risks associated with NCDs.
Clinical evidence for dietary change
Dr Ali shared compelling clinical evidence from a five-year study involving 48 heart disease patients. Participants following a low-fat vegetarian diet with mild cardio exercise experienced a measurable reversal of artery narrowing, improving by 1.75 percentage points in the first year and 3.1 percentage points after five years.
In stark contrast, participants receiving standard medical care without dietary changes saw their disease progress over the same period.
Bringing nutrition training into mainstream
To effectively address the state’s rising NCD burden, Dr Ali stressed the critical need to integrate nutrition training into mainstream medical education.
“Our general physicians are the first point of contact for most patients with chronic diseases. Giving them a baseline understanding of evidence-based nutrition ensures they can guide patients with accurate, practical and safe dietary advice that measurably improves health,” he asserted.
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