Chronic Disease Rates Rising In Adults and Young People
Recent survey data from Hyderabad shows that nearly half of adults over 60 live with hypertension, more than one-fourth have diabetes, and 44% are obese, conditions that increase frailty, reduce independence, and strain long-term care systems
Hyderabad: Telangana is facing a twin public-health challenge: a heavy burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among older adults and a troubling rise of the same conditions in much younger age groups.
Recent survey data from Hyderabad shows that nearly half of adults over 60 live with hypertension, more than one-fourth have diabetes, and 44% are obese, conditions that increase frailty, reduce independence, and strain long-term care systems. 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 once seen much later in life.
The consequences are significant. Living with diabetes or hypertension for 30 to 40 years dramatically raises the risk of health complications, and medications tolerated well by older adults can cause long-term challenges when started decades earlier.
At the centre of this concerning trend is a familiar factor: diet quality.
“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,” said Dr. Zeeshan Ali, nutrition scientist with the US-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM).
Delivering a lecture to more than 750 health sciences students, including medical students at MNR Medical College, he added that whole-food, plant-based diets can meaningfully reduce behavioural and metabolic risks.
Dr. Ali shared clinical evidence from a five-year study involving 48 heart disease patients. Those following a low-fat vegetarian diet with mild cardio exercise experienced measurable reversal of artery narrowing, improving by 1.75 percentage points in the first year and 3.1 percentage points after five years. In contrast, participants receiving standard medical care without dietary changes saw disease progression over the same period.
To address the state’s rising NCD burden, Dr. Ali emphasized the 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.”
As Telangana grapples with an unprecedented chronic-disease load across generations, experts say one of the most powerful interventions may be the simplest: improving what goes on the plate. Whether the state strengthens preventive nutrition in clinical practice could shape the long-term health of its people.
