75 p.c. of working women have health problems: survey

Striking the right balance between work and home has always been a challenge for working women.

A survey now finds that this daily “multi-tasking” is taking a toll on their health. The worst part is most of the affected women are in the 32 to 58 age group.

The survey titled ‘Multi-tasking seriously affecting corporate women’s health’ was conducted by the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry to mark International Women's Day on March 8.

The survey found that 75 per cent of the total sample size of 2,800 corporate women employees from 120 companies across 11 broad sectors had one or the other health problem.

The survey covered all levels of hierarchy and the problem was found to be prevailing across all levels of seniority and grades. It was conducted in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Pune.

According to a press release, the study found that 78 per cent of the sample size suffered from lifestyle, chronic and acute ailments.

These included obesity, depression, chronic backache, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, heart and kidney diseases.

“Those in the younger age group manage to cope up but are in a danger of developing problems,” the release said.

About 42 per cent of the sample size was found to be suffering from lifestyle diseases such as backache, obesity, depression, diabetes, hyper-tension, and heart ailments.

While 22 per cent were reported to be suffering from chronic diseases, 14 per cent had acute ailments.

“A majority of the respondents said while the jobs were demanding, fear of losing them in an environment of economic slowdown and low employment generation was making things worse,” the release said.

The worst part is that a majority of them do not get to visit the doctor.

The reasons vary from a busy schedule to staying in denial mode, and some of them take to home remedies.

Increasing medical costs

Increasing medical costs also add to the problem, particularly for those at the lower strata of jobs, the release added.