Apollo Hospitals recently launched the fifth edition of its Health of the Nation 2025 report, titled ‘Symptom-Based Healthcare is not the Only Indicator of a Country’s Health: A New Era of Preventive Care is Emerging’. The report highlights that health screenings of over 2.5 million persons revealed alarming insights – 26% had undiagnosed hypertension and 23% were diabetic despite showing no symptoms. Following the report, Dr Shreevidya, medical director, Preventive Health- Apollo Hospitals Group, spoke to Free Press Journal.
Excerpts From The Interview
With 65% of individuals screened having fatty liver—and 85% being non-alcoholic—what does this indicate about India’s emerging health priorities?
It is a glaring signal of a shift in India’s health profile, pointing to deeper metabolic dysfunction, shaped by urban lifestyles, high-stress routines, and poor-quality diets. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) seems to be the gateway point for diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic conditions. This data urges a relook at health priorities. Liver screening needs to be part of routine check-ups. Public awareness must extend beyond weight and cholesterol, toward a fuller understanding of metabolic health. We need a dedicated, national effort—comparable to how India tackled polio or TB—to address the growing burden of lifestyle-related liver conditions
With 46% of asymptomatic people showing early atherosclerosis, how should India recalibrate its cardiac care model?
It’s painfully clear that a symptom-based model of cardiac care is falling short. Atherosclerosis builds silently and long before any chest pain or breathlessness shows up. Waiting for warning signs means missing the window to act. Our healthcare systems must shift toward prediction and prevention. That includes wider availability of vascular screenings, insurance coverage for early-risk profiling, and public awareness campaigns focused on heart health markers well before a cardiac event. The data calls for a serious update to how we approach cardiovascular health—one that starts earlier and acts faster.
Diabetes in postmenopausal women has risen from 14% to 40%, and obesity is at 86%. How do we reimagine midlife women’s health?
This is a critical blind spot in our healthcare system. We must be prepared to support women after their reproductive years. Menopause brings hormonal, metabolic, and psychological shifts that need structured medical support—but these needs are often overlooked. We need care models that bring together endocrinology, cardiology, bone health, and mental wellness, all with a gender-specific lens. Midlife women require regular screening, access to counselling, and guidance tailored to their changing physiology. Women’s health doesn’t pause at menopause—it evolves. Our care models must evolve too.
28% of college students are overweight or obese, and 19% are already prehypertensive. How should India safeguard its demographic dividend?
We’re seeing early signs of a long-term crisis. These students will enter the workforce already carrying risk factors for chronic disease. If we don’t act now, the consequences will strain both the healthcare system and the economy. Health must be integrated into education—screenings in colleges, healthier food policies, mental health and lifestyle counselling, and digital tools that help students track and manage their wellbeing. The demographic dividend depends on our ability to prioritise youth health with real, structural interventions.
Vitamin D deficiency affects over 75% of adults (77% of women and 82% of men had Vitamin D deficiency), and anemia continues to persist. Why is India still struggling with basic nutritional gaps?
The problem lies not in scarcity, but in dietary quality, lifestyle changes, and lack of awareness. Urbanization has led to reduced sun exposure and sedentary habits, while diets remain heavily grain-based with limited variety. Fortified foods aren’t widely consumed, and nutrition often takes a backseat to taste, convenience, or affordability. Social factors, particularly affecting women and children, further complicate the picture — with poor absorption, cultural food practices, and limited access to nutrition education all playing a role.
Apollo’s findings point to the need for a cohesive national nutrition agenda. We must move beyond scattered interventions toward structured efforts — integrating regular nutritional assessments, food fortification, and widespread public health education. Teaching meal planning and nutritional literacy early, especially in schools, can help shift long-term behaviours.
Apollo’s ‘Health of the Nation’ report shows 59% of participants lowered HbA1C, 51% reduced BP, and 47% lost weight through behavioral nudges. What does this reveal about the future of care?
The data makes one thing clear: structured behavioral interventions work. Their effectiveness lies in how they engage individuals consistently, offer real-time insights, and support small but sustained changes in daily habits. This approach addresses the root of many chronic conditions—poor lifestyle management—without relying on hospital visits or high-cost treatments.
It signals a shift in how care can be delivered. The challenge now is to integrate this model into mainstream healthcare delivery. That means aligning it with public policy, insurance design, and provider incentives to support long-term engagement rather than short-term fixes.
This is what a more efficient, responsive, and people-centric health system looks like.
What health patterns are emerging at Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai?
Our facility in Navi Mumbai has become a bellwether for understanding the health profile of modern urban India. We are seeing a growing number of young professionals—under 40—presenting with lifestyle diseases like diabetes, fatty liver, and even early cardiac anomalies. Many of these patients lead sedentary lives, have high-stress jobs, sleep irregular hours, and follow inconsistent diets. Apollo’s approach has been to offer personalised health check programs that include stress profiling, sleep pattern assessments, detailed blood panels, and consultations across cardiology, endocrinology, and psychiatry. It’s a 360-degree model aimed at early identification and long-term reversal of disease risk.
There’s growing talk about sleep and stress issues. Are these concerns valid?
Across age groups, we’re seeing sleep deprivation and stress as core contributors to hypertension, metabolic conditions, and mental health decline. These issues are deeply linked to lifestyle, but their impact is physiological and measurable. We need to integrate sleep and stress metrics into health evaluations, educate people on sleep hygiene, and support emotional resilience as part of regular health programs. The body and mind aren’t separate systems—they influence each other.
Mental health trends among young Mumbaikars are worrying. What’s driving this?
The rising mental health concerns among young Mumbaikars are deeply troubling and deserve urgent attention. Several factors are driving this trend, creating a perfect storm of emotional and psychological stress. Academic and career pressures are mounting, with young individuals navigating a hyper-competitive environment that often leads to anxiety and burnout. Add to that the overwhelming influence of technology—constant connectivity, social media comparisons, and digital overload have created a reality where self-worth is often tied to online validation.
There is also a growing communication gap between parents and adolescents, particularly in nuclear family setups, where time-pressed lifestyles can limit emotional bonding. This isolation is further compounded by body image issues, unrealistic beauty standards, and a lack of safe spaces to express vulnerability.
Addressing this challenge requires a coordinated, compassionate response. As healthcare leaders, we must advocate for early intervention, equip schools and parents with tools for mental health literacy, and integrate emotional well-being into mainstream healthcare. Most importantly, we need to normalise conversations around mental health and ensure that every young person knows that help is available—and that seeking it is a sign of strength, not weakness.
Finally, what’s your view on the corporatization of healthcare in India?
The evolution toward corporatization in Indian healthcare reflects a broader, necessary shift in how we deliver care to a billion-plus population. It’s not merely about scale or infrastructure—it’s about bringing predictability, transparency, and quality to a sector that has long been fragmented. Corporatization, when led with the right intent, allows us to build systems that are accountable, data-driven, and resilient. It enables investments in advanced diagnostics, cutting-edge therapies, talent development, and digital innovation—key to managing the dual burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
But the real question is: what kind of healthcare ecosystem are we building? True leadership in this space means ensuring that access and equity keep pace with growth. As healthcare providers, we must align clinical excellence with community impact. This is not a choice—it’s an imperative. The future of Indian healthcare will be defined by institutions that combine the power of scale with a deeply human purpose: to make world-class care accessible to every Indian, regardless of geography or income. That is the direction responsible corporatization must take.
