The BRICS New Delhi Declaration has formally recognised obesity and non-communicable diseases as major global public health challenges, calling for healthier lifestyles and stronger preventive healthcare. Backed by the BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyle and its 2026–2029 roadmap, this moment offers India a real opening to talk about something more useful than broad advice—a roadmap that fits how most working Indians live.
For a diabetologist, the starting point has to be honesty about daily reality. Long working hours, prolonged sitting, irregular meals, and almost no time carved out for exercise are not excuses; they are the environment most professionals operate in. A healthy lifestyle roadmap that ignores this and places the entire burden on individual willpower is bound to fail. What India needs instead is a shift from treating diabetes after it appears to catching metabolic risk early, through changes people can realistically build into their work schedules.
Physical activity is often the first casualty of a demanding job, but it doesn't have to be. Desk-based professionals can break up long stretches of sitting with brief bursts of movement — a walk during a break, stairs instead of the lift, a few minutes of stretching between meetings. Regular aerobic exercise and strength training still matter and should be tailored to a person's health status and physical ability, but employers also carry responsibility here by promoting active breaks, walk-friendly workspaces and easier access to physical activity.
Eating well is the next challenge, since busy schedules often push people toward convenient meals, frequent snacking and sugary beverages. A realistic Indian approach doesn't demand giving up traditional food; it asks for balance: vegetables, pulses, whole grains, adequate protein and sensible portions built around familiar meals. Planning ahead and keeping nutritious snacks on hand can reduce reliance on less healthy convenience options, and any dietary advice worth following has to be affordable, culturally appropriate and sustainable, not a restrictive diet with an expiry date.
The link between sedentary living and diabetes risk deserves to be said plainly. Prolonged inactivity, especially alongside excess calorie intake, contributes to weight gain and reduced insulin sensitivity, making it harder for the body to keep blood glucose in check. Left unaddressed, this can progress in susceptible individuals from normal glucose levels to prediabetes and eventually Type 2 diabetes- a progression that regular movement, weight management and dietary change can meaningfully slow or prevent.
Sleep and stress are too often treated as separate from physical health, but they belong squarely in this roadmap. Irregular hours, poor sleep and chronic stress can influence appetite, food choices, activity levels and glucose regulation alike. Encouraging a consistent sleep routine and genuine recovery time isn't a lifestyle luxury, but it's preventive healthcare.
Screening ties all of this together. People carrying risk factors such as excess abdominal fat, a family history of diabetes, high blood pressure or a past episode of gestational diabetes may benefit from timely testing, guided by a diabetologist based on their individual risk. Prediabetes, in particular, is a genuine opportunity; progression to full diabetes is not inevitable when caught early.
There is also an India-specific truth worth repeating: a normal BMI does not rule out metabolic risk, especially when abdominal fat or other risk factors are present. Waist circumference, blood pressure, blood glucose and lipid assessment often tell a more complete story than weight alone, and the goal should always be better metabolic health, not a number on a scale.
Turning this vision into everyday reality means workplaces offering healthier food choices, movement breaks and preventive checks; public campaigns building real awareness around diabetes risk; and healthcare professionals communicating advice that people can actually follow. As one diabetologist put it, healthy eating, regular movement, adequate sleep and timely screening should not be occasional goals but everyday habits, because reducing the future burden of obesity and Type 2 diabetes means preventive healthcare has to begin long before the disease ever takes hold.
The author is the Director - Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolic Clinic, CK Birla Hospital, Gurgaon.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.
