What health means to under-25s across India

What is the idea of health for youths below 25 years across cities, towns and villages in India

There’s some good news from the pandemic after all: many Indians between 20 and 25 years, who witnessed Covid-19 in young-adulthood have the health wisdom of middle-agers, in part taken from their parents, in part from different kinds of media. Those we spoke to had internalized words like immunity and vaccine, through months spent in physical isolation, watching a rising death toll, and listening to doctors who slowly turned social media influencers.   

They’re also aware of the dark side of the digital age, with people surrendering eating habits to food delivery apps and mobility to technology. Here, five people answered the question: what does health really mean to you? In serious tones tinged in some measure by the abandonment of youth, they talk about difficult academic schedules and new jobs, traffic and air pollution, but hold that life is full of promise, if they could make the sage choices generations before them didn’t.   

Agnibho Das, 21, from Mumbai, Maharashtra, came to Delhi-NCR in 2021 after the first wave of the pandemic. He is a third-year student at Shiv Nadar University in Greater Noida. 

“When I stepped out of the Delhi airport the first time, and even now when I go into Delhi, I feel breathless. But my campus is clean and green,” says Mr. Das, who sets aside two-and-a-half hours every day for physical activity. “I run or cycle, go to the gym, or play a game of football or basketball because my goal is to be physically healthy.” He’s self-aware too: “When I am writing exams or loaded with project work, I tend to order junk food, but it leaves me queasy, and I’m trying to reduce it.” He admits that it’s easier at home, with parents nudging him into a healthy lifestyle. Now, he tries to be self-disciplined, but is sometimes a victim of unverified health claims. “I drink warm water with lemon and honey in the morning because I heard a dietician on television says that it works as an immunity booster,” he says.   

Confident Manih, 23, from Mawlong Nongtluh village, Meghalaya, relocated to Shillong two years ago for a job in a dental clinic. He now works night shifts in a pharmaceutical shop.   

Mr. Manih is aware of how lucky he is to be working in a pollution-free city, especially since he barely has time to look after himself. “Earlier when I was in my village, I would enjoy my daily rounds of brisk walking and was particular about eating my meals on time,” he says, adding that the night shifts have left him struggling a little. “My mother constantly worries about me, so I have started cooking my own food to avoid eating unhealthy food from outside. When you are living away from your family, the importance of health dawns on you. I cannot afford to fall ill.” He buys organic and goes for periodic medical check-ups. “Though I don’t exercise much now, I understand that eating right, remaining active, and taking possible preventive measures can keep me relatively free from illnesses. My health depends on how responsible I am towards my well- being, he says.   

Anjali Vaghela, 23, from Rajkot, Gujarat, who works from home for a Bengaluru-based cyber security firm, and lives with her parents.