Health Care Without Medicine

India’s technology sector must collaborate with health professionals to create a healthier society, says cofounder of Energy Inside which designs software to help improve mental well being through media and interactive exercises.

India’s growing middle class requires and deserves access to world-class health care services. Organizations such as Apollo and Fortis recognize the tremendous commercial opportunity of this market. However, the supply of health care services will always fall short of the demand. There are 0.7 hospital beds available for every 1,000 Indians (the worldwide average is 3.9). For a growing middle class of over 300 million people, there are not nearly enough doctors to provide quality services to everybody. Furthermore, less than 10 percent of the population has health insurance. As the availability of more advanced medical technologies rises and demand continues to increase, the cost of health care will also increase. This will result in a large, under-serviced population that both cannot access and afford high quality health care and who do not have the education to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Disease does not discriminate. According to a Columbia University study, it is estimated that smoking-related mortality will rise to 13 percent in India in 2020. Diabetes affects over 51 million Indians. It is estimated that up to 24 percent of Indians will be overweight by 2025. Beyond physical disease, it is believed that up to 20 percent of Indians suffer from depression and other mental illnesses.

Credit: Ajay Vishwanathan

How can these issues be addressed? One way is through the promotion of healthy behavior and disease prevention. Obesity related diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular illness, some cancers, tobacco related death, and some mental illnesses are all preventable. In order for India’s middle class to continue to flourish and stay healthy, there must be a push for health education and behavior change. This is not just an Indian problem – this is a worldwide problem. However, India is in a unique position to provide a solution to the world.

Healthy behavior and disease prevention have been part of the Indian psyche since the time of the Vedas. The Vedic scriptures and the Bhagavad Gita teach us how to behave in a healthy and moral way. Yoga promotes both psychical and physical well being. Pranayama uses deep breathing to improve the cardiovascular system and control appetite and weight gain. Laughter therapy has shown to improve mood and reduce stress. In many ways, the temple, mosque, and church are places to achieve mental well being beyond their religious function. All of these methods are not new; they have been part of the Indian culture for centuries. The common denominator between these methods is that they are self administered. They are practices that an individual can do on her own, without the need for a medical provider, and are, therefore, much more scalable to the demands of the population. They all play a considerable and an increasingly scientifically understood function in disease prevention and overall good health. How can these methods be adopted more?

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Beyond India’s deep knowledge of the methods to achieve spiritual, mental, and physical wellness, India is also a leader in technology. Technology can play a significant role in helping people adopt these healthy practices. The number of applications in the iPhone App Store that help teach Yoga number in the dozens. HopeLab (www.hopelab.org) designs computer games to help children fight cancer and obesity. The BodyBugg (www.bodybugg. com) measures how many calories you burn every day and helps you stay with your diet. Almost all the Fortune 500 companies offer software programs to help their employees lose weight and stop smoking. My company, Energy Inside (www. energyinside.com), designs software to help improve mental well being through the use of media and interactive exercises. All of these technologies help to improve your health and prevent disease. We are at the beginning of a new industry and there is much more that can be done. India’s technology sector must collaborate with health professionals, yogis, and homeopathic experts to utilize technology and these ancient practices to create a more healthy society.

Vinay Gidwaney is cofounder of Energy Inside and a researcher at MIT Media Lab. He was a TR100 member in 2002.