NCERT Book Class 11 Home Science Health and Wellness

Indicators of health status of the Indian population
Ophthalmology: Annual incidence of cataract, the cause of 80 per cent of blindness, is 3.8 million cases.

Cancer: The total number of cancer cases in India was estimated at 924,790 in 2001. This is projected to increase to 1,229,968 by 2011 and to 1,557,800 by 2021.

Cardiovascular diseases: The mortality rate due to cardiac arrest and related causes was estimated at 2.4 million in 1990. With increasing urbanisation the problem is on the rise.
Malaria: Projected to increase from 2.03 million cases in 2001 to 2.62 million cases in 2021.

Hypertension, diabetes and renal diseases: These stress and lifestyle related disorders are on the rise. The diabetic population in India is projected to increase from 40 million of 2001 to 47 million people in 2010. Hypertension is lower in rural areas but on an increase in urban cities.

Source: The Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency (ICRA) – Report on Indian Healthcare and Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India

These startling facts on health status in India and the projection that “by 2025, it is likely that one in every five Indians will be diabetic”, highlights the need for every Indian to become aware about health and fitness as important dimensions of their lives. Besides diabetes, the increasing prevalence of heart disease, osteoporosis, infectious/communicable diseases such as hepatitis, tuberculosis, AIDS, etc. have become public health problems and need immediate attention at all stages of life.

It is now recognised that there is a shift in the causes of death (mortality) from infectious and communicable diseases in the past, to noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease or cancer. Experts estimate that the number of persons having non-communicable diseases will increase in the future and there is an urgent need to address this problem, nationwide and worldwide.

It is important to note that many of these diseases were earlier seen in older persons. However, it is of concern today that many of these diseases are now found to occur in youth and younger adults. Another point of concern is that these diseases are not restricted to upper income families alone. Persons from low income families, especially in urban areas, are prone to these problems. It is stated by health experts that most of these health problems are due to unhealthy diets and lack of physical activity. Therefore, the world’s apex body dealing with health, the World Health Organisation (WHO), has made recommendations to develop a global strategy on diet, physical activity and health. Simultaneously, the Government of India is equally concerned about the increasing health