Why do Indians neglect health?
“People may assume that feeling good is synonymous with good health, leading them to overlook potential health risks or neglect essential health practices." says Pulse Align1
India is not a country of people who don't care about their body. It is a country of people who have been taught by culture, economics, stigma, and circumstance to treat their bodies as machines that only need fixing when they break down. Our brains are not wired to feel the reward of habits whose payoff is years away. This creates a devastating feedback loop: because good health feels like a baseline state (not a reward), maintaining it has no excitement and because neglecting it rarely causes instant pain, the cost does not feel necessary until the crisis arrives.
Whenever people say that they are “too busy”, it means that they have not received enough sleep, they are not asking for help when needed, often resulting in burnout, stress, and other internal conflicts. Hence, communities, families and workplaces that normalise regular check-ups, open discussion about supplements and nutrition, and consider rest as productivity rather than laziness create environments where people are far more likely to actually take care of themselves. We are often motivated to change only when the damage is already done, and the change required is far more costly and difficult than the prevention would have been.
India being the most populated country and having ancient traditional methods as treatment, lacks in respecting the same. In GOQii's India Fit Report 2024, nearly 45% of India's population hovers dangerously close to being classified as ‘unhealthy’. Ongoing stress without self-care elevates the risk of serious conditions including depression and heart disease.
Let’s understand the basic need that drives away people from seeking help. When people don't talk about self-care, don't prioritize rest, and treat getting sick as something that 'just happens,' the real cost of neglect keeps increasing.
1. The ‘it will go away soon’ phase
Human beings are good at ignoring uncomfortable truths and Indians excel at this art when it comes to health. Psychologists call this "optimism bias": the conclusion that bad things happen to other people, not to us.
2. The ‘toughen up’ stigma
When people assume, nothing is going to happen to me, it is because it is misunderstood that being sick means you are weak. Men specifically in India are pushed to be tough and go through daily life without complaints. If your family or community associates a doctor's visit with weakness or a serious diagnosis, the psychological cost of going feels higher than the cost of quietly suffering. Women in turn also struggle because they are in the traps of caregiving and prioritizing others so much that according to the census by GQQii, 59% of women were categorised as unhealthy, compared to 40% of men because they tend to ‘give their all’ and push beyond limits.
3. The ‘gap’ that can be filled by ‘supplementation’
The nutritional supplement market in India is seeing continuous growth. Yet, the masses still believe that consuming supplements is for those who go to the gym or the rich who can afford it. Some also believe that supplements are ‘unnecessary’ or just a different country concept that is influencing everyone in the wrong way. People have a very limited understanding of what specific supplements do, why they are needed, and how to use them correctly. This also talks about how India is the most micronutrient-deficient country in the world, with lack of Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, iron, and calcium cutting across class lines. A 2025 study by MediBuddy revealed that over 57% of male corporate employees in India suffer from Vitamin B12 deficiency, with nearly 50% of women similarly affected. These are not the people below poverty line struggling to make ends meet. These are the people who work hard, earn well and have proper access to healthcare.
4. We have all the right resources. But
We’ve mastered the art of using ‘nuskhe’ for all health problems. Not taking the medicine on the prescription, because the cure is in our backyard from the 80s. Why go to a doctor then? Research on cultural aspects of primary healthcare in India notes that traditional belief systems and allopathic medicine often operate in parallel, with many families consulting spiritual or traditional healers first, sometimes delaying appropriate medical care for months or years. This means that the existing problem can be dealt with in better ways but because of the bias and finding remedies, people become ignorant.
5. The never ending “I am very busy, later”
India's work culture is brutally demanding. "I don't have time" ranks near the top of the list for not paying a visit to the doctor. The Lancet has drawn attention to the fact that increasing academic demands, competitive professional environments, and the breakdown of conventional social support systems are producing a generation of people who are chronically stressed, sleep-deprived, and nutritionally deficient, and who are too preoccupied with productivity to realize that they are silently a victim to poor health.
6. Where is all my money going?
When people have a bigger family to feed, it becomes difficult to adhere to their own needs and that is why it feels like the money is running out. The WHO estimates that India's economic losses from mental health conditions alone could reach USD 1.03 trillion between 2012 and 2030, this is really tragic and at the same time people run away from the sheer thought of follow-ups because the cost of diagnosis and prescriptions is already high. Maintaining good mental and physical health means recognising that a nation cannot grow on sick, exhausted people and early intervention is important.
7. The Mental Health Mirror
The way India handles physical health is nearly identical to how it handles mental health, and the combination of the two images is sad. India has an 84.5% treatment gap in mental health care, according to a study released in the Journal of Mental Health and Human Behaviour (2024), which indicates that the vast majority of those who have been diagnosed with mental illnesses do not get any official treatment at all. Approximately 80% of Indians who suffer from mental illness do not seek care. We already know why. Stigma, fear of being labelled, the notion that the issue would resolve itself, financial burden, and a serious shortage of experts. India has only 0.75 psychiatrists per 100,000 residents, which is well below the WHO's minimum requirement. The combination of system flaws and societal stigma makes treatment genuinely out of reach for many people who have treatable diseases, not because they don't have alternatives in theory.
It's not a luxury or a sign of hypochondria to take your health seriously before you have to. It is becoming more and more of a need economically, personally, and nationally. The sooner India learns that lesson at a cultural, not just a political, level, the fewer of us will find ourselves in that hospital bed, asking ourselves why we waited so long.
References
1. Pulse Align: 10 Reasons People Neglect Their Health (2024) https://www.pulsealign.com/10-reasons-people-neglect-their-health-until-it-reaches-a-critical-point/
2. Psychology Today — "Have You Got the 'Too Busy' Blues?" (burnout & self-care neglect) https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/prescriptions-for-life/201703/have-you-got-the-too-busy-blues
3. GOQii India Fit Report 2024 —
4. GOQii India Fit Report 2024 — Coverage (45% unhealthy, 59% women vs 40% men) https://ehealth.eletsonline.com/2024/04/india-faces-impending-health-crisis-goqiis-india-fit-report-2024-reveals-alarming-statistics/
5. MediBuddy 57% Corporate Men Have Vitamin B12 Deficiency (March 2025) https://www.apnnews.com/over-57-of-corporate-men-in-india-face-vitamin-b12-deficiency-medibuddy-highlights-need-for-proactive-health-measures
6. Journal of Mental Health and Human Behaviour — 84.5% Mental Health Treatment Gap in India (2024) https://journals.lww.com/mhhb/fulltext/2024/07000/bridging_the_mental_health_treatment_gap_in_india_.3.aspx
7. Outlook India Bridging India's Mental Health Treatment Gap (80% don't seek treatment) https://www.outlookindia.com/national/bridging-indias-vast-mental-health-treatment-gap
8. ORF / Improving Mental Health Care in India (0.75 psychiatrists per 100,000) https://www.orfonline.org/research/improving-mental-health-care-in-india
9. PMC Mental Health in India: Evolving Strategies (treatment gap, Tele-MANAS, Ayushman Bharat) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10794102/