On November 14, the world observes World Diabetes Day, established by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness of the growing diabetes burden. The IDF’s 2025 theme, “Diabetes and Well-being” and the WHO’s focus, “Diabetes across life stages,” together call for sustained access to care and supportive workplaces that uphold dignity, equity and health throughout life.

In India, where nearly 90 million adults live with diabetes, the disease has quietly become a workplace epidemic. It strikes people in their most productive years, undermining health, livelihoods and national growth. Yet our policy lens continues to view diabetes as a lifestyle problem, a matter of diet and discipline rather than an issue rooted in how we live and work.

The everyday struggle of the working diabetic
In offices, factories and gig-work hubs, managing diabetes can be an invisible battle. Long commutes, erratic hours and high stress levels make it difficult to maintain medication schedules or regular meals. Few workplaces have refrigerators for insulin, or even a private corner for glucose testing. The result is quiet suffering, frequent absenteeism and worsening complications.

A 2025 workforce health survey that analysed over 2 lakh biomarker tests found that 37% professionals already show abnormal glucose levels. Government data similarly indicate that one in five Indians above 30 lives with diabetes, hypertension or both. These are not statistics of an ageing population; they describe the country’s economic engine.

The International Diabetes Federation’s 2025 Atlas places India second only to China, with a prevalence of 10.5% among adults aged 20–79 years. What was once a disease of affluence now cuts across class lines, from IT parks to industrial belts.

Counting the economic and human cost
India had an annual estimated diabetes treatment cost of Rs. 10,000 to 12,000 crore in 2003, which is likely to witness an increase of up to Rs 1,26,000 crore by 2025. A recent study showed that the total annual expenditure by patients on diabetes care in India was, on average, Rs. 10,000 in urban areas and Rs. 6,260 in rural areas.

Beyond the numbers lies the human toll: the worker who skips insulin to save on cost; the woman juggling shifts and childcare with no time for medical visits; the daily-wage labourer who cannot afford a single day off. For India’s vast informal sector, where social security is scarce and medical leave is a luxury, diabetes can mean sliding from precarious employment into poverty.

Why this is a labour-rights issue
The WHO and IDF jointly emphasise that ensuring “well-being at work” is integral to diabetes care. Yet India’s occupational-health framework still centres on injuries and infections, not chronic diseases. There are no specific labour provisions guaranteeing rest breaks, refrigeration for insulin or protection from discrimination in hiring and promotion.

Recognising diabetes as an occupational-health concern would be a small but significant shift. It would place the responsibility where it belongs – on systems, not just individuals. Industries with high shift work or stress exposure could be mandated to offer annual HbA1c screening and counselling. Workplaces could be encouraged, through tax incentives, to set up “wellness corners” with basic medical facilities and nutrition support.

Some leading companies are already experimenting with such models. But for the vast majority of workers, particularly in micro and small enterprises, diabetes care remains a private battle fought in public spaces.

A life-course approach
The WHO World Diabetes Day’s theme calls for “access to care across the life course.” For India, this means connecting prevention, care and livelihood. Schools must build early-age nutrition and physical-activity programmes to prevent childhood obesity; workplaces must ensure regular health checks; and community health centres must provide continued care for retirees.

Public-health programmes such as Ayushman Bharat and the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) can be linked more explicitly with labour-welfare schemes. This will allow preventive care and financial protection to move together, especially for informal-sector workers.

Changing corporate culture
India’s office culture of long hours, constant connectivity, processed food and minimal movement is fuelling early-onset diabetes. The Loop Health Workforce Index 2025 found that the average professional sits for nearly nine hours a day, with fewer than 5% meeting basic physical-activity guidelines. A diabetes-friendly workplace therefore requires cultural change: healthier canteens, flexible hours for medical appointments and managers trained to view health not as absenteeism but as investment.

A shared responsibility
For policymakers, integrating diabetes into labour and welfare frameworks is urgent. For employers, employee well-being must move from CSR reports to boardroom strategy. For civil society and unions, “Is my workplace diabetes-safe?” should become a rallying question.

The WHO warns that without structural change, India could see a 68% rise in diabetes cases by 2045. That future is not inevitable but it demands that health and productivity be seen as two sides of the same coin.

The way forward
India’s economic ambitions rest on the energy of its working-age population. Protecting that energy means building workplaces where managing a chronic condition does not mean hiding it. A worker should not have to choose between a pay check and a blood-sugar check.

On this World Diabetes Day, let us recognise diabetes not as a private failure but as a public responsibility. The fight against it will not be won in hospitals alone, but in offices, factories and policy rooms, wherever the rhythm of work determines the rhythm of life.

References:
1.    International Diabetes Federation. (2025). IDF Diabetes Atlas (11th ed.) – India Country Profile. Retrieved October 2025 from https://diabetesatlas.org/data-by-location/country/india/
2.    World Health Organization. (2025). World Diabetes Day 2025: Diabetes and Well-being – Access to Care Across the Life Course. Retrieved October 2025 from https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-diabetes-day/2025
3.    Loop Health. (2025, September). India Workforce Health Index 2025.Outlook Business Spotlight. Retrieved from https://www.outlookbusiness.com/spotlight/loop-health-india-workforce-health-index-2025
4.    Times of India. (2025, March 14). 20 per cent people above 30 years have diabetes, BP or both: Govt. Retrieved from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/20-people-above-30-yrs-have-diabetes-bp-or-both-govt/articleshow/121385363.cms
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Dr. Sahil Parmar (MBBS, MD) is Fellow, Pahle India Foundation. Shreya Anjali (MPH) is Public Health Analyst, Pahle India Foundation.