As you grow old, your health starts to deteriorate. Everything, whether it is your mental health or your physical health, starts to slow down. However, with age, your mental health gets overshadowed by your physical health.

Signs You Should Note

If you note these signs in your ageing parents or grandparents, take note of it. Try to get involved with them. It is also important to ensure that they have a separate social circle apart from the family. This way, they can have friends who they can also relate to.

With age, suggests Sinha, you are more prone to be depressed, and anxious. “Mental health conditions like schizophrenia or bipolar disorders are not something that happens when you grow older. You may have been living with these for the last 40 years, but the management differs, she suggests.

As you grow old, your symptoms start to overlap with other mental health conditions. For the proper treatment professionals use differential diagnosis, suggests Sinha. “The lines become blurred and to differentiate the symptoms from one mental health condition to another becomes difficult,” she says.

Preventive Measures

There are also food habits like eating leafy vegetables, nuts, fish, virgin coconut and beans that help with brain functions.

Sinha suggests that keeping a social circle and continuing your hobbies can help your mind stay healthy. “Men especially face this issue, after they retire, they feel like they are at the loss of authority, and they start to lose control. It is thus important to keep doing things and learning a new skill to keep your brain active. While for women, since they continue taking care of the house, their brain stays active,” she says.

Cognitive stimulation is the key, especially to managing dementia, she notes.

“Just with weight training, you push your body and after a while, it becomes your muscle memory. Same with the brain. However, one should not get into solving too many puzzles, or trivia after being diagnosed with dementia. Because that would mean you are making your already injured brain exercise which might lead to agitation,” she recommends.

How to support?

“The most important part is for the caregiver to understand what is happening and come to terms with the conditions. Because the elderly with cognitive conditions are not able to understand, they cannot be told or instructed to do anything. Thus, the responsibility is solely on the caregiver,” points out Sinha.

So, what can be done?

Awareness

Reach out to therapists and counsellors to know the ways to create such a healthy environment.

Be Patient

She suggests adopting the same approach that you do with kids and with your pets. This is when you focus on gestures, body language and mood over language. Due to cognitive disorders, parents experience a loss of language and the only way to communicate and to understand what they are communicating is through these means.

Be Empathetic

Create a healthy environment by agreeing with them and listening to their stories. The responsibility of creating a safe environment is totally with you.

There might be times when your parents may do socially unacceptable or non-compliance behaviour. But it is important to understand the triggers and ensure that the triggers do not occur anymore.

Help Them Stay Fit

Tattoos have long raised health concerns. While they are generally safe when done under proper hygienic conditions, they still pose risks related to safety, the introduction of foreign substances into the body, and potential long-term effects, including cancer.

However, contrary to previously known health risks, a study has claimed that tattoos can actually prevent the risk of the deadliest form of skin cancer – melanoma.

The findings led by researchers from the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah in the US showed that having two or more tattoo sessions decreased the risk of both invasive and in situ melanoma. In situ melanoma means the cancer cells remain on the skin’s surface and are more easily removed.

“We see people with two, three, and four tattoo sessions having decreasing risk, and that’s a stronger pattern than the increased risk with just one session,” said Jennifer Doherty, a researcher at Huntsman Cancer Institute.

But “this isn’t a black and white case of ‘get more tattoos, and you could lower your risk of melanoma,’” said Rachel McCarty, post-doctoral scientist at the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Also read: Shocking! Man Gets A Tattoo On His Neck; Months Later, Flesh Turns Black And Rots Away

How Tattoos Can Prevent Melanoma

The researchers noted that the beneficial effects may be because people with several tattoos are more cautious with sun safety and take better care of their skin.

Tattoos could also form a physical barrier that blocks ultraviolet radiation or cause an immune response against precancerous cells, the researchers explained in the paper.

McCarty said those with tattoos should continue making informed decisions about skin protection.

“Tattoo artists already advise their clients to wear sunscreen and sun protection to prevent tattoos from fading,” McCarty said.

“We know wearing sunscreen is an important safety step for everyone, even without tattoos. But it’s also important for those with tattoos to take extra precautions to prevent any additional harmful components from forming in the skin when pigments break down from UV exposure.”

The researchers have called for more studies to understand the beneficial effects of tattoos.

An earlier project from Doherty’s team and a Swedish study both suggest that tattooing could be connected to an increased risk of certain blood cancers. The study also indicated a greater cancer risk for those with larger tattoos.

What Is Melanoma?

Melanoma is a serious type of skin cancer that develops in melanocytes, the cells responsible for producing melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color. While it can occur anywhere on the skin, it often develops on areas exposed to the sun, such as the face, arms, back, and legs.

Melanoma can also appear in less-exposed areas, like the soles of the feet, palms, or under the nails, particularly in individuals with darker skin tones. Although rare, melanoma may develop in the eyes, mouth, or internal organs.

The condition can be life-threatening if it spreads to other parts of the body, but early detection significantly increases the chances of successful treatment. It is often linked to excessive ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or tanning beds, though genetic predisposition and family history also play roles.

Symptoms Of Melanoma

The primary sign of melanoma is a new or changing mole, freckle, or skin lesion. The "ABCDE rule" helps identify suspicious moles:

• Asymmetry: One half does not match the other.
• Border: Irregular or scalloped edges.
• Color: Multiple shades or unusual colors like red, white, or blue.
• Diameter: Larger than 6 mm (about the size of a pencil eraser).
• Evolving: Changes in size, shape, or color.

The 28 to 35-year-old age group in urban India now experiences lifestyle diseases because people now live their lives incorrectly instead of aging at a higher rate. Diabetes, high blood pressure, fatty liver, and PCOD have become routine in those under 40, developing these conditions without showing any symptoms.

Hidden Metabolic Risks

A normal BMI no longer guarantees good health. The visceral fat around organs leads to both inflammation and metabolic dysfunction. Chronic stress increases cortisol levels, resulting in insulin resistance, while people who sleep less than six hours experience further metabolic disruptions. Skipping regular check-ups leads to delayed detection of health problems.

Women’s Health And Preventive Screening

PCOS is a silent condition affecting almost 20 percent of urban Indian females. Regular consultations, including HPV vaccination, Pap smear, and hormonal evaluation, are essential.

After 25, routine tests that include fasting sugar, HbA1c, lipid profile, liver enzymes, thyroid function, Vitamin D, and B12 help detect risk early. A whole abdomen ultrasound helps detect fatty liver and silent organ damage early.

The process of detecting medical conditions at an early stage enables doctors to reverse the health issue, but patients who receive it late need permanent treatment.

Clean Eating: Trend vs Truth

The "clean eating" trend needs proper representation because it exists through incorrect information. In reality, traditional Indian dishes, such as dal, chawal, and sabzi, provide complete nutritional value. Quinoa and kale do not show any advantages over each other.

The "healthy" packaged snacks, such as multigrain biscuits and protein bars, exist mainly as marketing tools. People accept ultra-processed foods because cloud kitchens and delivery services make these foods available for consumption at home. Hidden ingredients like maida, refined oils, and excess sugar are present in everyday foods such as bread, biscuits, mithai, and even packaged atta.

The Way Forward

There is no superfood or perfect diet. Supplements cannot replace nutrition. Whole foods, home-cooked meals, timely screening, and consistent habits remain the foundation of good health. Turning 30 does not have to feel like 50, but it requires awareness and intentional choices starting now.

World Health Day is observed annually on April 7 to mark the founding day of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948 for public health worldwide.

The Day raises awareness about global health issues and highlights the importance of preventive care, healthy lifestyles, and equal access to healthcare for all.

On World Health Day 2026, the WHO urged people to renew their commitment to working together and supporting science as the twin engines driving better health.

“Science is one of humanity’s most powerful tools for protecting and improving health,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.

“People in every country live longer and healthier lives on average today than their ancestors did, thanks to the power of science. Vaccines, penicillin, germ theory, MRI machines, and the mapping of the human genome are just some of the achievements that science has delivered that have saved lives and transformed health for billions of people.”

World Health Day 2026: History

World Health Day commemorates the formal establishment of the WHO in 1948. The creation of an independent, international health body was proposed by Brazil and China in 1945.

The WHO Constitution, signed in 1946 by 61 nations, officially came into force on April 7, 1948. In the last 78 years of its existence, the WHO has directed and coordinated the world’s response to health emergencies such as :

• Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
• Ebola outbreak
• COVID-19 pandemic
• mPox

In addition, it has also led global efforts against communicable diseases (like malaria, HIV, polio) and works on non-communicable diseases (e.g., cancer, diabetes).

The WHO works towards universal health coverage, with a

• focus on primary health care
• improving access to essential medicines and health products
• training the health workforce and advising on labour policies
• improving monitoring, data, and information.

World Health Day 2026: Theme

World Health Day 2026 will be observed under the theme “Together for health. Stand with science.”

The theme highlights the role of the WHO in promoting public health, which has led to improvements in the global maternal mortality rate, falling by more than 40 percent since 2000, and a reduction of over 50 percent in deaths among children under five.

The global health body lauded the advances in technology and scientific knowledge and skills, due to which the once-life-threatening health challenges – such as elevated blood pressure, cancer diagnoses, or HIV infection – have turned into manageable health issues.

The WHO stated that science was behind every health progress, which led to improvements in global health and lives. This includes the development of

• anesthesia
• safer medicines and affordable vaccination
• screening technologies, such as electronic blood pressure monitors and mammography tools.

WHO and its partners generate and translate evidence across a wide range of health priorities, from infectious diseases and chronic conditions to mental health, nutrition , and environmental risks, supporting countries to deliver effective, equitable care.