It may have seemed a slightly different conversation at Trailblazers 2.0 but by blending the role of sport in improving the overall health of citizens in India and throwing light on some simple ways to attain the larger objective of ensuring a healthier nation, the session was as gripping and invigorating as any that featured India’s sports stars.
The session on Digital Health, Brands, Longevity and Sport was designed to explore ways to increase awareness on the difference between lifespan and health span with the objective of improving community health. This included diverse stakeholders from the world of business, bound by a common thread of using digital technology.
Prodded by moderator Prantik Mazumdar to offer solutions for the country to rise on the Global Health Security Index, each panelist had a simple call of action to make India a healthier nation. It was a wonderful way to sum up the intense conversations on the standards of health and the contributions being made by each stakeholder in this direction.
Tata Digital Chief Marketing Officer Shoumyan Biswas asked parents to encourage their children to inculcate the habit of playing some sport and business houses to focus on servicing the needs of people rather than just selling products. Aktivolabs’ Gourab Mukherjee also offered a simple suggestion. “No matter what you do, walk double, eat half and sing in the shower,” he said.
Brittannia Industries’ Chief Marketing Officer Amit Doshi said it would make a difference to India if each one started with oneself and one’s family. “Figure out habits that work for you and family. Start somewhere,” he said, pointing out that Brittannia was among the first to eliminate transfat and, at the same time, address the malnutrition problem at the other end of the social spectrum.
HDFC Ergo Insurance’s Chief Underwriting Officer Hiten Kothari echoed that sentiment by saying that people needed to find 15-30 minutes each day for themselves for fitness and health. “Manage the diet since food is 80 per cent of the reality,” he said, revealing that the awareness levels were so low that people were checking Body-Mass Index on their apps twice a week.
Shrachi Group’s Managing Director and CEO Rahul Todi changed the lines of an age old adage and said “Padoge likhoge to banoge nawab, Kheloge Khoodoge to rahoge nawab (If you read and write, you can become a noble; If you play sport, you will be a noble),” he said, urging everyone, irrespective of age, to play sport and embrace it as a means of health.