An anticipated loss of US$ 160 billion is estimated to Indian national income due to increasing heart diseases, strokes and diabetes between January 2010 until beginning of 2015, says a joint report of PWc and Assocham.

The national loss on account of these diseases were estimated around US$ 100 billion between a period of 2005 onwards until beginning of the calendar 2009, it points out.

The report named Working Towards Wellness, some of the findings of which were released here recently, highlighted that due to tensions arising out of transitional liberalization in working and social life, number of people with hypertension in India is expected to see a quantum leap of nearly 127.5 million in next few years. The number of people that suffered hypertension in the process of being a part of liberalized economy for survival has been estimated at over 60 million until about 2009, says Assocham and PWC.

India's loss in terms of losing potentially productive years due to deaths from cardiovascular diseases in people aged between 35to 60 years is one of the highest in the world. The reason for this is that since India is one of the fast developing countries it has yet to create facilities to take on tensions and high blood pressures that often lead to cardiovascular diseases.

According to the paper, four years ago, it was estimated that chronic diseases in India accounted for almost 53 per cent of all deaths and 44 per cent of disability adjusted life years. It is estimated that deaths from chronic diseases in India would register a sharp increase from 3.78 million in 1990 to over 6 million by 2015. In percentage terms, the increase accounts for over 60 per cent.

It suggests that preventing chronic disease requires reducing tobacco intake, eating a healthier diet and exercising regularly. People must change their behavior so as to grow healthier. India is the world's second largest consumer of tobacco resulting in experience huge rates of cancer, including the largest numbers of oral cancer in the world.