new delhi awareness around fitness may have increased over the past few years but indians fare poorly on several parameters according to a study by fitness device platform goqii indians under the age of 45 saw a rise in the incidence of lifestyle diseases in 2018 compared to 2017 incidence of diabetes rose to 51 from 36 high bp to 94 from 49 cholesterol to 121 from 54 and thyroid to 61 from 44 a cigna 360 wellbeing survey found close to 82 of indians suffer from stress with work health and money being the causeshealth is wealthwill maintaining good health translate into monetary rewards would that induce more indians to work on their fitness some health insurers think so manipalcigna max bupa and aditya birla health all offer products that incentivise fitness activitiesconstant monitoring and proactive action can postpone the onset of lifestyle diseases take the case of 63yearold retired banker mahesh nailwal he has been practising yoga for the past two decades i barely need to spend money on medication thanks to my daily practice he explains data from healthcare management firm wellthy therapeutics says a reduction of 1 in your hba1c levels can hugely impact your savings over the longterm see graphicbesides cost of hospitalisation diabetes can reduce productivity it is best to keep lifestyle diseases at bay by adhering to a healthy regime from a young age the earlier you start the higher your chances of being in a healthier state over the longterm much like investing in equities it pays to start early be systematic and stay put over the longterm instead of looking to invest a lump sum closer to retirementhealth insurance pluseven if you have purchased health insurance at a young age the premium could spiral out of control later at the age of 60 or 70 renewal premium for a 5 lakh cover can rise to 70000 many tend to terminate their policies at this stage says pankaj mathpal founder optima money managers as a result they are left without a cover at a vulnerable stage of their lives build a separate health kitty for retirement during your working years he addsretired government employee bhuwanchandra joshi 76 sets aside 10000 a month from his pension of 50000 in a liquid mutual fund every month to meet contingency needs this money can foot bills for expenses not payable under your policy and partly replace your unviable health policy if the need arisesbeyond physical healthwhile planning for retirement you not only need to identify recurring as well as onetime large expenses but also activities that can keep you fruitfully occupied both nailwal and joshi keep themselves busy by engaging in social and community service activities hobnobbing with others and contributing towards charitable causes can boost your overall wellbeing quotient potentially reducing health ailments and thus medical expenses