‘Stress’ needs no introduction in the present age. Even kindergarten children are said to be under some stress from parents to make it in the admission list for prestigious schools. Unhealthy levels of competition have crept into every walk of life, right from the young to the old, who are in a rat race with no finishing line. There is a mad clamor for being the best in the heap, and people are paying the price of long hours of work, high stress, and sedentary life, with their health.
Modern living encompasses the comfort of swanky cars, frequent eat outs, and sedentary leisure activities, which has given rise to a set of deadly diseases under the banner called Lifestyle diseases.Previously unheard of, today heart attacks befall even 25 year olds. The years between 30 -50 when one can be their productive best are marred by the onset of diseases. A report by National Commission on Macroeconomics and Health has indicated the extent of penetration of life style diseases, which is predicted to be double in the coming years. Cancers are expected to rise by 25%.
As intelligent people, we could attack the problem in two steps.
Obviously, there is nothing to beat prevention strategies, as it is always better than cure. In this respect making lifestyle changes, consisting of a healthy diet and exercise may be the best route to keep health blues at bay.
Insurance is another step in this direction of giving us the mental peace to recover when the chips are down. Just like life insurance, or insurance against theft, vehicle, fire and the like, critical insurance pays for the cost of medicines, treatment, surgery and hospitalization. The income loss during the period of illness is also taken care of to a certain extent. A critical insurance cover does not cost the earth, some of them are available for as less as Rs 11 per day for a 5, 00,000 insurance cover targeting a middle aged man.
It is certainly a pragmatic move to tailor your lifestyle in such a way as to prevent illness. Further, a bit of forward planning to take care of health eventualities is a wise move to enable the comfort and peace to both the victim and the family, especially till the victim bounces back to health.
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