Most patients who walk into a doctor’s clinic convinced their health problem is complicated turn out to have a simpler issue: a diet that has slipped out of shape over several years without anyone noticing, because nothing about it ever felt urgent. This isn’t about willpower. It’s about eating habits so common in Indian households that they no longer feel like habits.
Poor eating habits affect your heart in the long run, so be very careful about your diet choices (Adobe Stock)
Tavishi Dogra is a Deputy Chief Content Producer, Health & Wellness, at Hindustan Times. She has over 9 years of experience writing about fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, translating medical research and expert insights into practical advice readers can trust.
Career journey and experience
Tavishi began her health journalism journey in 2017, and has since reported for RSTV, Financial Express, Jagran, HT Media Labs and Zee. She joined Hindustan Times to simplify wellness subjects by cutting through jargon.
From decoding health trends and interviewing doctors to testing fitness routines herself, Tavishi always approaches content with one filter: “Will this help someone make a better decision today?”
Subject expertise
With 9+ years tracking India’s health conversations, Tavishi knows the gap between clinical advice and daily life. She knows fads from fundamentals and curates science-backed, expert-recommended solutions.
In fitness, she breaks down bodyweight training, recovery, and posture fixes for desk-bound readers. In nutrition, she translates guidelines into affordable, desi meal tweaks. In mental well-being, she focuses on stigma-free, actionable tools — all backed by research, expert input, and lived context.
Education and professional background
Tavishi holds a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and began her career reporting on public affairs for broadcast. Those early years in policy and TV shaped how she writes today: fast, factual, and human-first.
Editorial Philosophy
I write with one single goal: To simplify health in a world full of noise by finding what’s actually doable, safe, and evidence-based for my readers. I test claims against research and user experiences. When all else fails, I speak to the expert who sees 50 patients a day, not the one with the most followers.
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These habits don’t cause symptoms until they do
Blood pressure rises without warning signs. “Blood sugar drifts upward long before it crosses a diagnostic line. A habit built up over ten years is much easier to correct,” Dr Sonal Mhatre, BHMS, Senior Manager-Clinical Operations at Livlong 365, tells Health Shots. At the same time, it’s still just a habit, not a diagnosis.
1. Skipping breakfast adds up
Many working Indians in cities skip breakfast or get by on tea and biscuits before rushing out the door. One missed meal doesn’t matter much on its own. Done every day for years, it changes how the body handles blood sugar, and doctors often see this pattern in patients who later develop early insulin resistance, usually well before anyone thinks to test for it.
2. Portions haven’t adjusted to how sedentary life has become
Rice and roti portions in most homes are roughly the same size as they were three decades ago, when more people did physical labor or walked long distances daily. The same portion eaten today, after a short commute and a desk job, is a different equation. The food hasn’t changed. The lifestyle around it has, and portions haven’t kept pace.
3. Salt and sugar go unnoticed because no one measures them
Home-cooked food gets credit for being healthier than packaged food, and mostly it is, except for salt and sugar, which get added by hand and by habit rather than by measurement. Pickles, papad, an extra spoon of sugar in tea, a second dessert at a family function- none of it registers as a diet problem because it doesn’t come with a label. Hypertension and Type 2 diabetes don’t care where the salt or sugar came from.
4. Late dinners matter more than people assume
Eating dinner late and going straight to bed afterward is common in many Indian households, especially in cities where work runs late. Few people realize how much this affects digestion, sleep, and, over the years, metabolic health. It’s a detail almost no patient thinks to mention to a doctor, because it doesn’t feel medical. It usually is.
5. Fad diets fix the wrong thing
Many patients have already tried a diet trend from social media by the time they see a doctor, followed it strictly for a few weeks, and dropped it once the weight came back. Most of these diets are built to move a number on a scale, not to build something a person can keep doing for the next twenty years. Sustainable eating is unglamorous, but it’s the only kind that actually changes long-term health.
What are some strategies to promote healthy eating?
Not for the dramatic cases, but for the ordinary patterns that shape long-term health without anyone noticing. None of what’s listed here is something you can’t address. With the right awareness, diet consultation, and a proactive approach, you can identify and correct these concerns.
(Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.)
