The Healthy Bharat Movement: Reframing Health Awareness and Care Pathways

India’s understanding of health has undergone a quiet but decisive shift in the post- pandemic period. Individual health, once viewed as a personal goal or concern, is increasingly being recognized as a national

asset important for long term economic growth, and the same has been incorporated into the vision of Swasth Bharat, which has now transformed into an imperative.

As this broader health consciousness deepens, it also brings into focus the areas where further progress is needed, covering awareness, prevention, and access to care. While significant steps have been taken by the government and healthcare ecosystem to strengthen prevention, early diagnosis, and care pathways, some conditions continue to be under-discussed or misunderstood, influenced by gaps in awareness, misinformation, or stigma. Addressing these challenges can help enable earlier diagnosis, timely care, and sustained support for people living with chronic conditions.

It is within this evolving health landscape that Network18, in collaboration with Eli Lilly & Company (India) Pvt. Ltd., has launched the Healthy Bharat Movement—a public health initiative designed to foster informed dialogue, shift mindsets, and strengthen understanding of care pathways, translating growing health awareness into meaningful public conversations and action. The movement was formally launched through a Network18-hosted conversation that focused on one such health condition—obesity—featuring Winselow Tucker, President and General Manager, Eli Lilly and Company (India).

The proposition of this curtain raiser was simple yet transformative:  the need to address obesity as a chronic disease for improving public health outcomes and reducing the burden of non‑communicable diseases by addressing gaps in awareness, stigma, early diagnosis, long-term care, and system readiness. It calls for a more informed, coordinated approach that supports individuals and caregivers early in their health journey, strengthens healthcare pathways, and contributes to a healthier, more productive India.

Obesity: Scale and Silence

An IQVIA analysis and projection based on the National Family Health Survey (India 2019-20) and data from the Global Observatory on World Obesity reveals that close to 100 million Indians live with obesity, defined by a BMI greater than 27 with comorbidities or above 30. Yet despite its prevalence, obesity continues to occupy an uneasy space in public discourse, often framed as a lifestyle issue rather than a medical condition.

“Science today tells us that obesity is influenced by multiple factors—biological, social, cultural and environmental,” Tucker noted. “But the belief that it is simply about willpower fuels misinformation and stigma.”

Obesity bias and stigma often discourage people from seeking appropriate medical care and advice resulting in delay of formal diagnosis and in some cases, resulting in various metabolic and mechanical complications that increase morbidity and mortality. As a result, obesity often goes undiagnosed until it manifests through complications such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease or reduced mobility—conditions that require more complex, long-term, and resource intensive care.

Hidden Costs of Delay

The consequences of this delay extend beyond individual patients. Families often bear the emotional and financial strain of managing advanced chronic diseases; healthcare systems, in turn, face rising costs as late-stage complications require more intensive and complex care and, at a macro level, productivity may suffer.

 

The World Obesity Federation estimates that in 2019, the economic impact of overweight and obesity was estimated at nearly $29 billion equivalent to 1 per cent of India’s then GDP, largely due to healthcare expenditure and lost productivity. Seen through this lens, addressing obesity is not merely a clinical challenge, it is an economic and social one.

Challenges Across the Care Continuum

One of the more striking insights to emerge from the discussion is that many people living with obesity engage regularly with the healthcare system, yet the condition itself often remains unrecognised or unaddressed. Conversations around weight can be difficult—for patients and, at times, for healthcare professionals—resulting in missed opportunities for timely identification and early intervention.

This highlights enduring gaps across awareness, clinical training, and established care pathways. Over time, obesity has not been accorded the same level of clinical attention as other chronic diseases, contributing to inconsistent screening practices and fragmented approaches to care. Bridging these gaps will require more than medical education alone; it will also necessitate a broader cultural shift—one that normalises evidence-based, compassionate conversations around obesity and supports care in a respectful, non-judgmental manner.

Addressing Stigmas

Judgment—whether within families, communities or healthcare settings—can delay diagnosis and access to care by years. People hide their struggles, avoid consultations or resign themselves to living with declining health. Over time, this can erode confidence, mental wellbeing and meaningful participation in everyday life.

“Addressing stigma is not just about kindness,” Tucker emphasised. “It is about making sure people get the care they need, when they need it.” He emphasised that a meaningful public health response must balance scientific evidence with empathy.

Measuring Progress

Obesity care will become a core component of chronic disease management when there is a clear shift in public understanding—from viewing the condition as a moral failing to recognising it as a chronic disease that requires sustained evidence-based care. Progress will also be reflected in more individuals proactively seeking evidence-based medical guidance that integrates healthy diet, regular physical activity, and sustainable lifestyle changes in line with established clinical guidance, rather than relying on short-term or unproven approaches.

At the same time, the healthcare system must evolve to support this shift through the development of clear, long-term care pathways and enabling policy frameworks, including insurance and reimbursement models that are appropriately aligned with chronic disease management. Together, these markers will signal meaningful progress toward more comprehensive, consistent, and equitable obesity care while respecting clinical judgment, patient autonomy, and health system structures.

Invoking Science, Empathy and Evidence

The Healthy Bharat Movement positions itself not as a one-off campaign, but as a sustained platform for change. By anchoring conversations around health, disease prevention, and care pathways in science, empathy, and evidence, it seeks to shift public mindsets and strengthen long-term health outcomes—recognising that healthier populations underpin stronger systems, improved productivity, and societies better equipped to meet future challenges.

Partnered Post