Supplementary risk

A visible shift in urban India’s approach to health is encouraging, but the cost of getting it wrong is unfolding rapidly.

- DR PREETHA REDDY

From early morning running groups to packed gyms even across smaller cities, a culture of movement and self-care is taking root. This is not a superficial trend. It reflects a growing awareness of the burden of noncommunicable diseases, which continue to impact younger people with increasing severity. This momentum towards fitness is something to encourage and protect.

Yet, as with many rapid cultural shifts, it is being accompanied by patterns that merit closer examination. One of the most striking developments is the normalisation of supplements as a default part of everyday fitness.

With the increasing availability of protein powders, performance enhancers, and nutraceuticals in India, products once used selectively under clinical supervision are now widely consumed without clear medical indication—placing young people with undiagnosed preexisting conditions at particularly high risk.