Don't worry, be healthy

A quick breakfast before rushing to the workplace, where pressure keeps mounting by the minute till it''s time to go back home - with more work for the day ahead. This is the kind of life which an average corporate citizen leads.
But even as the pressure of the work front is on the upswing, professionals are keeping pace with life in the fast lane and laying emphasis on health.So reveals the latest survey conducted by market research major NFO-MBL India.
The survey, conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Pune, says that corporate executives are increasingly becoming more health-conscious even as stress levels rise. The sample spans executives in the 30-50 age group spread across all management levels.
‘‘While 77 per cent of the respondents feel that work pressure has increased, a significant number (67 per cent) keep long working hours,'''' observes Gautam Nath, director (corporate services) NFO-MBL India.
A majority of executives (82 per cent) attribute unhealthy lifestyles and stress at the workplace to health disorders. The good news is that 80 per cent of executives feel they are more health-conscious than ever before. ‘‘Moreover, corporate executives are looking after their well-being in various ways,'''' says Nath, ‘‘Be it eating healthy food (68 per cent), exercising (73 per cent), playing sports (40 per cent), consuming dietary supplements (32 per cent), visiting the gym (18 per cent) or trying alternative preventive therapies (25 per cent), more and more executives are taking more than a keen interest in their health.''''
Another interesting revelation of the survey is that a fair number of people are keen on investing in their health. As per inferences drawn up by the survey, executives are willing to spend 7-10 per cent of their annual income on health-related expenses.
‘‘It is a fact of life that today''s executives are health-conscious. The foremost reason for this trend is that there has been a social awakening as regards health,'''' maintains Delhi Medical Association president SL Gupta, ‘‘Another important factor is education, which goes a long way in making healthy human beings out of efficient executives.'''' So, the mantra is to work hard - not only on office work, but also on one''s health. The doctor apart, that''s what India Inc ordered.
sanghitasingh@indiatimes.com