Someone once said, ‘New year resolutions are just like babies, fun to make but extremely difficult to maintain’. Every year January begins for me with a resolve to make myself better. But, as soon as the confetti is swept off, my resolution also sees itself out of the window.
At the same time, I have realised that a resolution is difficult to maintain only for the first 15 days and after that, it becomes a habit. Hence, the idea this year is to pick a resolution and stick to it on a healthy note. Staying healthy and maintaining a healthy lifestyle has made its way into my new year resolutions for this year.
Apart from good health, the other most important reason to maintain a healthy lifestyle is that healthcare is cheaper for those who are healthy. Not just their expenses on medication and health check-ups will be low but even their insurance cost will be lower, as top health insurance providers like Apollo Munich offer products to their customers that have discounts for staying active.
There is no better time to embark on a fitness regime than around the New Year, as after the New Year eve’s party most of us become concerned about our lifestyles. Also, many people start looking for health insurance at the beginning of the year. Hence a fit regime can yield dual benefits of improving physical fitness and keeping health care costs low.
So, this year I have planned to make five simple lifestyle changes for a better health:
- Eating Right: We all love our food spicy and fried but to ensure a healthy lifestyle one must have to let go of the oil as fried items are one of the major causes of heart problems. Maintaining a food journal and keeping track of what we eat is also helpful to maintain good
- Taking up an outdoor activity: Engaging in 40 min of brisk walking or taking up sports activities like swimming, football, or even dancing, these activities not only helps to burn calories they also keep stress levels low. Research also suggests that people who engage in physical activities are less prone to depression.
- Staying away from smoking and drinking: Smoking and consumption of alcohol are one of the foremost causes of premature deaths among the youth. Smoking is also a leading cause of lung cancer. Resolve to eliminate this vice from your lifestyle this year.
- Walking instead of taking your car/motorbike: Taking short walks to the grocery store is an effortless way to burn some calories. This can also help you in reducing the carbon footprint.
- Getting Enough Sleep: A tired mind and lack of sleep can make anyone a dull. Seven hours of sleep is crucial for good health as sleep deprivation, can also cause serious physical and mental health issues like depression and in some cases even obesity.
Healthy Lifestyle & Health Insurance Premiums
Health insurance companies have been offering term covers at cheaper rates to certain categories of individuals. However, the definition of a healthy lifestyle is not confined to tobacco consumption alone.
A host of other factors also play an important role in determining the premium. The premium for people who are obese or have hypertension and/or diabetics, their premium will be higher. For instance, a 40-year old insurance seeker suffering from diabetics may have to shell out double the amount of premium when compared to a healthy individual of the same age. However, health insurance premiums witness an increase with age.
| Age (Years) | Term (Years) | Monthly Premium | Annual Premium |
| 25 | 35 | 759 | 8,683 |
| 30 | 30 | 901 | 10,287 |
| 35 | 25 | 1,070 | 12,231 |
| 40 | 20 | 1,376 | 15,723 |
| 45 | 15 | 1,915 | 21,893 |
| 50 | 10 | 2,639 | 30,160 |
Table: Average increase in health insurance premium with age
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
To get more benefits out of staying healthy, it is important to revisit the policy regularly – or at least in time before the renewal. Inform your advisor about your current health status. If you neglect your insurance and let it roll into automatic renewal, you might end up paying a small fortune every month as it is presumed that your health will decline over a period of time and your premiums will rise exponentially.
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