Why Health Slips Out of Hands at 50? Start Early, Stay Strong.

Teena Tailang
Sep 13, 2025
5 min read

Updated: Oct 8, 2025

A woman's body goes through a lot, physically and mentally. Women are expected to be perfect, run a household, raise children, cook meals, and look fabulous, too. All this can be overwhelming and can take a toll on their well-being. And when the body starts showing signs in the form of body aches, dull skin, hair fall, lethargy, and other metabolic health issues, only then do women listen to the wake-up call. But by then, it’s often too late. Reversal becomes difficult, and frustration kicks in.

Before we dig deeper into the problem, let’s see some statistics—

According to the Orthopaedic Journal of India, 31.6% of Indian women suffer from knee osteoarthritis
According to the NHFS report, in older ages (60 and over), hypertension prevalence is about 6% higher in women (51.3%) than in men (45.5%). The Print reports that over half of women with hypertension don’t have their BP under control.
According to PubMed, 20.4% of women in urban India have insulin sensitivity.
According to a recent study, women make up about 75–80% of autoimmune disease cases in India. Chronic stress has been identified as one of the key factors in developing autoimmune diseases.

These statistics clearly mirror the reality that women in India are developing multiple health problems, most of which they aren’t even aware of. Sleep deprivation, chronic stress, burdening themselves with responsibilities, and a diet lacking essential nutrients only add to these conditions.

Why Health Slips Out of Hands After 50

Our body starts its degenerative process as early as the age of 30, but the effects usually start showing once you turn 40. A modern lifestyle accelerates this process. Prolonged working hours, frequent consumption of high-calorie, low-nutrition meals, and sleep deprivation add to ageing. Women in their 50s who have never exercised in their lives and have limited knowledge of the nutritional requirements of the body are far more prone to these effects.

Women often ignore the early signs of ageing and don’t get health check-ups done until they fall sick or their joint health starts showing strong degenerative signs. This habit silently weakens their bodies and throws their vitals off balance. Ignoring health continuously increases their risk of developing serious conditions.

Many women also live in a bubble where they don’t educate themselves on health and simply follow traditional thinking. In some conservative families, It is still a taboo for women to talk about their health issues. So most of the times women suffer in silence. The most common excuse women still give is that "We don't want to trouble anyone!"

Before finding solutions, let’s break some myths—

Myth #1 – Household chores are as good as exercise.
Fact – This was true only when women had to do hard labour like grinding grains, fetching water from far away, washing clothes by hand, or cooking on the floor. With modern appliances, we are active but our muscles aren’t strengthening. To build strength, women must do some form of weight training, whether with dumbbells or their own body weight.

Myth #2 – We eat ghar ka khana, so we are healthy.
Fact – Home-cooked food is indeed the best food, but if you aren’t paying attention to the oil, sugar, and salt you consume daily, your health will still suffer. Limiting fried food to special occasions and cutting down on sugar and salt will benefit you in the long run.

Myth #3 – We eat daal for protein.
Fact – One bowl of daal meets only about 10-15% of your daily protein requirement. You need to add other protein-rich sources that are low in calories and high in protein concentration.

Myth #4 – We’re not bodybuilders, so why should we lift weights?
Fact – Lifting weights doesn’t make women bulky. Female hormones naturally prevent bulkiness. Weight training actually protects against osteoarthritis, insulin resistance, and many lifestyle disorders.

Be Informed, Start Early

Before we start finding solutions, let’s break some myths that women

Myth #1 – Household chores are as good as exercise.
Fact – This was true only when women had to do hard labour like grinding grains, fetching water from far away, washing clothes by hand, or cooking on the floor. With modern appliances, we are active but our muscles aren’t strengthening. To build strength, women must do some form of weight training, whether with dumbbells or their own body weight.

Myth #2 – We eat ghar ka khana, so we are healthy.
Fact – Home-cooked food is indeed the best food, but if you are not taking a balanced diet comprising all macro and micronutrients, your health will suffer. In majority of indian households, there is no attention given to the correct amount of oil, sugar, and salt. The mindless obsession for taste just ruin not only a woman's health but the health of the whole family.

Myth #3 – We eat daal for protein.
Fact – One bowl of dal provides only 10–15% of your daily protein needs. To meet your protein goal, include more low-calorie, high-protein foods. An average woman needs about 1g of protein per kg of body weight, so getting 70g of protein from a single bowl of dal is nearly impossible.

Myth #4 – We’re not bodybuilders, so why should we lift weights?
Fact – Lifting weights doesn’t make women bulky. Female hormones naturally prevent bulkiness. Weight training actually protects against osteoarthritis, insulin resistance, and many lifestyle disorders.

Women need to start prioritising their health as early as 25 years of age. At this age, metabolism is usually active, and the body can digest food easily. But as soon as we hit 30, the degenerative process begins. Hormones start fluctuating, and sleep cycles get disturbed. Working women with dual responsibilities hardly get time to rest. Coupled with a lack of awareness, many simply give in to their health problems and accept them helplessly.

But wait - it’s never too late. Women, if we can’t stop ageing, we can definitely slow it down. Here are some tips that can help you slow progression, manage problems better, and sometimes even reverse them. All you need is an open mind to change your lifestyle for good.

How to Take Charge of Your Health After 30

Start setting up a routine and allocate time for your mental and physical health.
Learn about nutrition and fix nutritional gaps first through a balanced diet, and then with supplements if needed.
Add different exercise forms to your fitness routine. Don’t stick to just one type; make a weekly plan with yoga, weight training, aerobics, walking, and more. Exercise helps manage blood sugar and is also a great mood lifter.
Choose exercises that are safe for you. Mindless workouts can do more harm than good. Consult a doctor or trainer, and always use the correct posture.
Get health check-ups at least once a year. Women over 40 especially need to screen for arthritis, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and other common issues.
Manage your stress. Pick a hobby, delegate work if overwhelmed, spend time outdoors, share problems with someone you trust, and most importantly, stay away from negativity. Some things are beyond your control, so stop overthinking. Learn to let go.
Invest in your health. Buy good exercise equipment, fill nutritional gaps with quality supplements, and choose healthier food, even if it’s more expensive. Cheap packaged food can cost you your health much more later.
Surround yourself with like-minded, positive people.

These small lifestyle changes, if started early, can be incredibly rewarding and contribute to healthy ageing.

You can still feel beautiful with a few fine lines and grey hair, but your future self will thank you if you start taking your health seriously before it slips out of your hands.

Stay Strong, Stay Beautiful.

** Disclaimer : This post is not medical advice. It is intended solely to raise awareness about healthy lifestyle practices and should not be taken as professional medical guidance. Please consult your doctor before starting any exercise routine, diet plan, or supplement.