Hyderabad: With hypertension, diabetes, thyroid, pre-menopause symptoms, osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases on the rise in women, there are only 39 per cent who opt for health insurance, according to a recent survey carried out on the eve of Women’s Day observed on March 8.
According to the Irda Insurance Awareness Survey report, the male female ratio among those having health insurance is 70:30 for the government and 67:33 for the private sector. Insurance agent Kirit Raja said, “There are general insurers covering maternity-related expenses. There are benefits for 8 to 11 diseases identified specially for women. The takers are few because of lack of awareness and also because the husband’s have insurance policies covering wife and children. This is one grey area which has not made the women only policy attractive.”
Doctors insist that heart diseases are the number one cause of death in women. Cardiologist Dr Sunil Kapoor said, “When a woman develops hypertension, in 10 per cent of the cases we have found that it develops into major cardiovascular diseases like enlargement of heart, thickening of heart muscles and also blockages. This requires proper intervention.”
Apart from this, 32 per cent are found to suffer from bad bone health. Dr Sanjay Tapadia, senior orthopaedic surgeon said, “Women have to be educated to take care of their bone health from 35 years of age. Due to lifestyle issues where proper foods are not being consumed, younger women below 40 years are coming with very fragile bone structures resulting in injuries.” Experts are asking women to indulge in 40 minutes of physical training everyday.
Dr Latha Balasundaram, physical trainer with Apollo Life Centre said, “Women are aware but want to try out first only a 10-day or a month long programme. It is a fear of whether they will be able to do it or not which nags most of them. But once they realise that these are not towards weight training or too strenuous but according to their body capacity then they are comfortable.”
