Urban Indian young adults' perceptions of a healthy lifestyle and its associated factors: a multi-city qualitative...

The prevalence of overweight and obesity and the associated non-communicable diseases in young adulthood has increased significantly in the last decade. Urban Indian young adults fail to meet the recommended guidelines for healthy diet and physical activity. The aim of this qualitative study was to gain novel insights into the barriers and facilitators of a healthy lifestyle of Indian young adults residing in urban settings.

Underpinned by the social constructivism paradigm, in-depth interviews were conducted with young adults (aged 21-30 years) who were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling techniques from eight metropolitan cities (New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru). Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were transferred to NVivo software for inductive thematic analysis.

A total of 79 young adults (41 males, 38 females) participated in the interviews. Five themes and their associated sub-themes were identified: (i) Perceptions of a healthy lifestyle (consuming a balanced diet, leading an active life, having adequate sleep); (ii) Facilitators of a healthy lifestyle (family support and upbringing, health promotion by celebrities and famous personalities, built environment, body image, intrinsic motivation); (iii) Barriers to a healthy lifestyle (time constraints, food environment challenges, peer pressure); (iv) Strategies adopted to maintain a healthy lifestyle (dietary management, engaging in exercise and other forms of physical activity, reducing screen time); and (v) Recommendations for prospective interventions (education and awareness about nutrition and health, creating healthy and hygienic food environments).

The evidence emerging from this multisite inquiry offers first-hand information about the individual, social, and environmental level barriers and facilitators to the adoption of a healthy lifestyle among urban Indian young adults. Strategies and recommendations suggested during the interviews can be used to tailor prospective lifestyle interventions for encouraging the adoption of sustainable healthy lifestyle in young adults. Prospective interventions could focus on enhancing nutrition and health knowledge of young consumers and offering more healthy and hygienic food options in cafeterias of workplaces and educational institutions as well as other eateries.