World Diabetes Day 2025: A new report released on the occasion of World Diabetes Day finds 17% of Indians report diabetes, making it one of the top five ailments after stress, joint pain and high blood pressure. The study notes the disease’s increasing prevalence in millennials and corporate employees whose long term health risks may be increasing due to deadly combination of inactive lifestyle, poor diet and high stress.
The report analysed the sample of 2,000 respondents across 19 key urban centres, representing metros and Tier I cities across India. ICICI Lombard’s 8th edition of India Wellness Index study 2025 noted concerning decline in Gen Z wellness, indicating impact of changing lifestyle in raising risk of chronic diseases in younger generation.
Stress and fatigue dominate
According to the findings, stress and fatigue continue to dominate in major Indian cities, as 1 in 3 people reported high daily stress and 41% reporting constant tiredness. The report also found out that Indians without heart or diabetes conditions score 79 on the Wellness Index, compared to just 70 for those living with such ailments.
Gen Z shows decline in physical and mental wellness
Gen Z needs to be extra-vigilant about their health looking at the findings of the report as the are showing declines across all wellness pillars – physical, mental, financial, workplace and social.
Tier-1 Gen Zs were identified as the most vulnerable group. On the other hand, Gen X and women did much better as they demonstrated improvements in key areas including physical fitness, financial literacy and workplace balance. Millennials too displayed a rebound, primarily driven by better financial planning and higher adoption of insurance.
Poor mental health among millennials and corporate women
As things get more fast-paced, impact is visible in mental health of young Indians as they are reporting an average of 1.3 depression symptoms. Fatigue and a sense of hopelessness were the most common indicators. Millennials and corporate women reported the highest vulnerability, while Gen X and residents of Tier-1 towns appeared least affected.
The North zone continues to top wellness scores, while the West remains lowest, with metros like Mumbai and Pune dragging regional average.
Falling health of corporate employees
As per the new study, the physical wellness of corporate employees is far worse than the general population. Women and younger professionals were especially affected. While 73% of Indians acknowledge that high-pressure environments can harm heart health, 4 in 10 said they frequently ignore symptoms, and dismiss them as stress.
Work–life balance remains a constant struggle for this generation, with guilt, exhaustion and family strain affecting nearly two-thirds of respondents. This is especially true for corporate employees.
Are Indians eating healthy?
The report also highlighted that while 66% of Indians admitted to following a balanced diet, they failed to reduce sugar, salt, or fat due to factors like lack of time, motivation, or awareness.