India Inc's 'young & fit' workforce is hiding a heart health crisis: ekincare co-founder | Exclusive interview

Young age and a normal weight are no longer reliable indicators of a healthy heart in India's corporate sector. According to a new health assessment by digital health benefits platform ekincare, cardiovascular risk is surfacing much earlier than the traditionally associated 40s and 50s, challenging how companies approach employee wellness programmes.

ekincare's "Young Workforce Heart Health Report 2026," which analysed health check-up data from 2 lakh corporate employees, revealed that a staggering 58.5% of workers under the age of 35 were flagged for at least one cardiovascular risk marker.

"While our data identifies the risk markers, the underlying picture is shaped by a combination of lifestyle habits and biological factors," Dr Noel Coutinho, Chief Business Officer and Co-Founder of ekincare, told LiveMint. "Young professionals often work long hours and sleep late. They check work messages at midnight and rarely switch off. Ongoing stress keeps stress hormones elevated, which pushes up blood sugar, blood pressure, and unhealthy cholesterol."

Dr Coutinho noted that sitting for 9 to 10 hours a day, frequent consumption of ordered-in food, and a genetic tendency among Indians towards insulin resistance create a perfect storm for early metabolic risk.

"Weight is the easiest thing to see and the least complete thing to rely on," Dr Coutinho explained. He highlighted that BMI does not account for where fat is stored, pointing to the Indian "thin-fat" profile, where fat accumulates around the abdomen and organs even at a normal weight.

"A 'healthy' employee should be defined by what the numbers show: lipid profile, HbA1c or fasting glucose, and blood pressure, along with sleep, stress, activity, smoking and alcohol," he said.

Specifically, within the Gen Z cohort, flags for low HDL (good cholesterol) rose by 7.4 points, and blood sugar flags increased by 1.3 points.

Dr Coutinho attributed this to habits formed before entering the workforce, including physical inactivity, diets high in refined carbohydrates, sugary drinks, and smoking or vaping.

Across the broader workforce, blood sugar emerged as the most alarming metric.

While cholesterol and blood pressure risks have eased since 2023, overall blood sugar risk has surged by 4.3 percentage points, with a sharp jump in 2024. High blood sugar in a person's twenties means decades of exposure, which significantly elevates the risk of heart disease later in life.

This difference is partly biological, as pre-menopausal oestrogen helps women maintain higher HDL levels and a better lipid profile. Behavioural factors, such as higher rates of smoking and alcohol consumption among young Indian men, also play a significant role.

However, Dr Coutinho cautioned against complacency -- "More than half of young women in our data still had a flagged marker. Women's cardiovascular risk also tends to be under-recognised and under-investigated, so the lower number should not lead to lower vigilance."

To address these escalating risks, Dr Coutinho advised companies to mandate comprehensive lipid and blood sugar screenings for young employees, rather than just checking height and weight.

He also stressed that a health report should not just end up as a PDF in an inbox; it must be followed by a doctor consultation and a structured lifestyle plan.

Ultimately, the solution extends beyond medical testing. "Work-life balance isn't measured by a policy document," Dr Coutinho said. "It's measured by how comfortable an employee feels leaving on time or taking a day off without worrying about how it looks."