2025 through a doctors eyes: How lifestyle became the common risk factor
When I look back at my clinic over the last few years, one thing is very clear. Lifestyle has quietly become the biggest risk factor behind most of the illnesses I see today. Earlier, we used to talk about age, family history, or some rare condition. Now, even young people in their late twenties and thirties are walking in with problems that we earlier saw only much later in life. As an internal medicine doctor, my day usually includes patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol issues, fatty liver, heart problems, gut complaints, sleep issues, and unexplained fatigue. When we sit and talk properly, almost all roads lead back to lifestyle. Long sitting hours, very little physical activity, irregular meals, high stress, poor sleep, and constant screen exposure. None of these looks dangerous by themselves, but together they slowly damage the body. One common thing patients tell me is Doctor, I do not eat junk food daily. That may be true. But they skip breakfast, eat late at night, depend on packaged food between meetings, drink too much tea or coffee, and hardly move during the day. Many think going to gym once or twice a week cancels everything else. Sadly, the body does not work that way. Stress is another silent player. In 2025, stress is no longer only mental. It shows up as high BP, acidity, palpitations, hormonal imbalance, and poor immunity. People are constantly switched on. Messages, calls, deadlines, social pressure. The body never gets a break. Even sleep is disturbed, and poor sleep alone can worsen sugar, BP, and weight. What worries me most is how normal this has become. People feel tired all the time and think it is part of adult life. They feel bloated daily and think it is normal. They depend on painkillers and antacids instead of fixing their routine. By the time they reach us, the disease has already set in. Dr. Sundararaman That is exactly why a new specialty like Metabolic Medicine is slowly emerging in some countries. The focus is not just on one organ or one disease, but on how lifestyle, metabolism, and daily habits together affect the entire body. It is about catching problems early, before diabetes, heart disease, or liver damage fully develops. The good news is that lifestyle-related problems are also reversible, at least in early stages. I have seen patients reduce medicines just by changing food timing, walking daily, and sleeping better. No extreme diets, no fancy fitness plans, but simple things done consistently. The challenge is not knowledge but priority. As doctors, we are now spending more time talking about routine than tablets how many hours do you sit; how much water do you drink; when did you last walk; how late do you scroll before sleep. These questions matter as much as blood reports. If there is one message I would give for 2026, it is this: lifestyle is not a side topic anymore. It is the main diagnosis. Medicines help, but habits decide the outcome. Small changes done daily will always beat occasional big efforts. The body keeps score, quietly and honestly. Dr R Sundararaman, senior consultant, Internal Medicine, SIMS Hospital, Chennai.
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