While urban India's growing shift toward fitness and preventive health represents a positive movement to combat non-communicable diseases, it has simultaneously triggered a concerning trend of indiscriminate supplement consumption driven by social media influencers who lack clinical training. This widespread, unguided use of protein powders and nutraceuticals poses significant, long-term risks to metabolic, liver, and kidney health, especially for individuals with undiagnosed pre-existing conditions. In response to these risks, the Indian government and the Advertising Standards Council of India have introduced stricter regulations requiring wellness influencers to disclose their qualifications and substantiate technical claims. Highlighting the critical need to transition from trend-based habits to personalized, evidence-based care, Dr. Preetha Reddy of Apollo Hospitals emphasizes that safeguarding public health requires a collective course-correction to ensure fitness journeys are guided by professional medical advice rather than popular digital misinformation.

While urban India's growing shift toward fitness and preventive health represents a positive movement to combat non-communicable diseases, it has simultaneously triggered a concerning trend of indiscriminate supplement consumption driven by social media influencers who lack clinical training. This widespread, unguided use of protein powders and nutraceuticals poses significant, long-term risks to metabolic, liver, and kidney health, especially for individuals with undiagnosed pre-existing conditions. In response to these risks, the Indian government and the Advertising Standards Council of India have introduced stricter regulations requiring wellness influencers to disclose their qualifications and substantiate technical claims. Highlighting the critical need to transition from trend-based habits to personalized, evidence-based care, Dr. Preetha Reddy of Apollo Hospitals emphasizes that safeguarding public health requires a collective course-correction to ensure fitness journeys are guided by professional medical advice rather than popular digital misinformation.

While urban India's growing shift toward fitness and preventive health represents a positive movement to combat non-communicable diseases, it has simultaneously triggered a concerning trend of indiscriminate supplement consumption driven by social media influencers who lack clinical training. This widespread, unguided use of protein powders and nutraceuticals poses significant, long-term risks to metabolic, liver, and kidney health, especially for individuals with undiagnosed pre-existing conditions. In response to these risks, the Indian government and the Advertising Standards Council of India have introduced stricter regulations requiring wellness influencers to disclose their qualifications and substantiate technical claims. Highlighting the critical need to transition from trend-based habits to personalized, evidence-based care, Dr. Preetha Reddy of Apollo Hospitals emphasizes that safeguarding public health requires a collective course-correction to ensure fitness journeys are guided by professional medical advice rather than popular digital misinformation.

A visible shift in urban India’s approach to health is encouraging, but the cost of getting it wrong is unfolding rapidly. From early morning running groups to packed gyms even across smaller cities, a culture of movement and self-care is taking root. This is not a superficial trend. It reflects a growing awareness of the burden of non-communicable diseases, which continue to impact younger people with increasing severity. This momentum towards fitness is something to encourage and protect.

Yet, as with many rapid cultural shifts, it is being accompanied by patterns that merit closer examination. One of the most striking developments is the normalisation of supplements as a default part of everyday fitness.

With the increasing availability of protein powders, performance enhancers, and nutraceuticals in India, products once used selectively under clinical supervision are now widely consumed without clear medical indication—placing young people with undiagnosed pre-existing conditions at particularly high risk.

The assumption that “more protein equals better health” has taken hold, often without a clear understanding of individual requirements. Recent conversations led by nutrition experts have begun to question this narrative. Also, the concern is not with supplements themselves, which have a legitimate role in addressing clinically diagnosed deficiencies. The concern lies in their indiscriminate use—often guided by social media trends rather than medical advice.

This brings into focus a second and more structural issue, which is that of the growing influence of digital personalities in shaping health behaviours. Fitness and wellness influencers today command large audiences, yet many operate without formal clinical training. Their recommendations—amplified through compelling content—can carry the weight of authority without the foundation of evidence.

India is now beginning to respond to this challenge. The government has proposed that health and wellness influencers disclose their qualifications when offering advice, an important step toward transparency in a space that directly impacts public health. Industry bodies such as the Advertising Standards Council of India have also strengthened guidelines, requiring influencers to substantiate claims and disclose expertise when speaking on technical subjects such as health and nutrition.

This development is not about restricting voices. It is about recognising that health advice is fundamentally different from lifestyle content. It carries consequences. Misinformation in this domain can delay treatment, distort choices and, in some cases, cause harm that becomes visible only later.

The risks associated with uninformed supplement use are often subtle. They do not present as immediate emergencies but develop over time, affecting metabolic balance, kidney function, liver function and hormonal health. By the time symptoms emerge, the underlying causes may be difficult to trace back to everyday habits formed years earlier. Interestingly, a peculiarity of this situation is the contrast it presents. On one hand, there is a genuine desire among individuals to take charge of their health. On the other, there is an ecosystem that can sometimes misdirect that intent.

Preventive health care has always been built on informed decisions. It begins with understanding one’s own health profile, identifying risks early and adopting interventions that are both appropriate and sustainable. For Apollo, this has long been a guiding principle. Programmes such as Apollo ProHealth, built on insights from millions of health screenings, reflect a shift toward personalised, evidence-based preventive care. Initiatives like “My Food, My Health”, developed by clinical dieticians across the Apollo network, aim to counter nutritional misinformation with guidance grounded in medical science rather than trends.

India’s growing commitment to fitness is a positive and necessary shift. It has the potential to redefine public health outcomes for an entire generation. Protecting that progress requires a collective effort to distinguish between what is beneficial and what is merely popular. The instinct is right. The direction, increasingly, is not, and if we do not course-correct now, we may find that in our pursuit of health, we have quietly normalised a new kind of harm—one that does not announce itself loudly, but reveals itself far too late.

Dr Preetha Reddy is Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited.

TAGS