Indians are increasingly developing lifestyle-related health conditions at a younger age, with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes , fatty liver disease, obesity and cardiovascular disease becoming growing concerns.
Health coach Adithya Nataraj says the issue is not simply about body weight, but what is happening metabolically beneath the surface.
“We lost the organ that protects our metabolism. “And we develop them at a lower body weight. This is why, he argues, looking only at weight or BMI may not provide a complete picture of an individual’s metabolic health. Adithya believes there is no single reason behind this trend. “It isn’t one villain. “Same diseases , younger, and slimmer bodies. That’s the real Indian health story. He points to the ‘thin-fat phenotype’, where a person may have relatively low muscle mass while carrying more body fat despite appearing lean. “Scarcity didn’t change our genes. It changed how babies are built in the womb. Low muscle, preserved fat. “We became overfed and undernourished in a single generation. “The problem was never our traditional food. “In a single generation, the Indian plate flipped, traditional to industrial, whole to refined, seasonal to packaged. Skeletal muscle plays an important role in glucose uptake, making muscle maintenance relevant to metabolic health.
Across India, we’re seeing earlier diabetes, earlier heart disease, more insulin resistance, rising fatty liver and climbing obesity, often a full decade sooner than Western populations,” Adithya shares in his September 2 Instagram post. (Also read: Why two Indians of the same age can look worlds apart: Doctor explains how muscle mass may shape the way you age ) According to him, metabolic problems can affect people who appear slim or have a BMI within the normal range.
You can look slim, have a ‘normal’ BMI, and still carry the metabolism of someone much heavier,” he says. Genetics, environment and lifestyle stack on top of each other — all pointing in the same direction,” he says. “Built for famine, now living in constant abundance,” Adithya says. Researchers call this the thin-fat phenotype,” he says. This becomes more significant in a world where food is constantly available, and physical activity has declined, according to Adithya. “Today, with food available every hour and almost no physical work, the same wiring quietly works against us,” he says. It’s the modern version of it,” he says. The body never got the memo,” Adithya says. Another concern, he says, is the decline in everyday movement. “We sit 8–10 hours a day, rarely strength train, and walk far less than any generation before us,” he says. Muscle is the glucose vault,” Adithya says.
“We develop these diseases years earlier than the West. He describes it as a mismatch between the body’s adaptations to scarcity and today’s environment of abundant, easily available food. He also distinguishes traditional Indian diets from today’s increasingly processed food environment. Traditional diets often included millets, dals, vegetables, fermented foods, dairy and seasonal produce, while today’s plates may contain more refined flour, sugar, packaged snacks and ultra-processed foods .
He describes the potential cycle as a metabolic loop: “Less muscle → less glucose storage → higher insulin → more fat stored → faster metabolic ageing. He says the cycle can worsen with continued inactivity, poor nutrition and muscle loss . “Once this loop starts, it accelerates. Each year of unaddressed muscle loss makes the next year worse. The body ages faster than the calendar says,” he says. Nataraj says metabolic dysfunction can manifest in several ways: Nataraj recommends focusing on muscle, movement, nutrition, sleep and stress:
- Build muscle: Strength train 3–4 times a week. The single biggest lever you have against metabolic ageing.
- Prioritise protein: Eat protein at every meal. 25–30g per meal. This is what holds the muscle you build.
- Walk regularly: Walk daily and again after meals. 8,000–10,000 steps a day, plus a 10-minute walk after every meal.
- Sleep well: Sleep 7–8 hours. Your nightly repair and hormone -reset window.
- Choose whole foods: Dal, sabzi, millets, fermented food and seasonal fruit over packaged snacks.
- Manage stress: Yoga, breathwork, time outdoors. Lower the cortisol that ages you from the inside. Ultimately, Adithya says metabolic health cannot be judged by appearance or body weight alone. “You can’t change your genes. But you decide what they hear. Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition. This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
