Experts Warn of Rising Youth Heart Risks, Advocate ‘Blue Zone’ Living

A new health crisis is silently gripping India's youth, with leading medical experts warning that sedentary lifestyles are rapidly escalating instances of hypertension among teenagers and triggering heart attacks in individuals as young as 25.

- Press Trust Of India

With 50 per cent of heart attacks now striking people below the age of 50, and 60 per cent of Delhi schoolchildren obese, the alarming figures have prompted experts to declare that an urgent return to 'Blue Zone' principles is the way to reverse this urban health crisis and save the next generation.

'Blue Zones' refer to five regions around the world - Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Icaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California - where people live much longer, healthier lives, often up to 100 years, with remarkable vitality, primarily due to their unique lifestyles based on natural movement, strong community bonds, purpose, and plant-rich diets.

Dr Sanjeev Gera, Senior Director and Head of Department of Interventional Cardiology at Fortis, Noida, speaking at the HEAL OneHealth Connect Series held last week, sounded an alarm on the severity of this 'epidemic'.