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ABSTRACTThe rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in young Indians underscores a compelling need to instil healthy lifestyles in adolescents and young adults. The present study aimed to assess the health-promoting lifestyles of freshmen admitted to institutes under seven different faculties of an international university in India. The study was conducted across five Indian cities and recruited 4253 participants pursuing both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Information on socio-demographic factors and health-promoting lifestyle behaviours using a modified Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) scale was collected. The total HPLP and sub-scale scores for six domains were estimated. Univariate and age and gender-adjusted multivariate analyses were conducted to identify the determinants of health-promoting lifestyle scores. Gender-wise distribution of total HPLP and subscale scores indicated significant differences between female and male university students except for spiritual growth (P = 0.300). Overall, female students secured significantly higher total HPLP scores than male students (139.8 vs 137.6, P=0.000). Multivariate models showed that students from the faculties of Management and Law 3.15 (CI: 1.61, 4.68) and Humanities and Social sciences 4.90 (CI: 3.24, 6.58) had lower total HPLP scores compared to students of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) faculty. The faculty, zone, and residential status predicted nutrition sub-scale scores. Interestingly, students from North zone campuses (b − 0.62 (CI: −0.92, −0.32)) than west zone, and international students (b − 1.18 (CI: −2.11, −0.24)) compared to domestic students had lower nutrition sub-scale scores. Gender and faculty-specific targeted interventions could promote the healthy lifestyles of young Indian University students.

A monthly incentive of Rs. 500 is transferred to the bank accounts of all notified TB patients to purchase nutritious food under the ‘Nikshay Poshan Yojana’ (NPY) scheme by the Government of India. This study was conducted to assess awareness about the scheme and utilization of the monetary benefit by patients.

Financial necessity and desperation is the primary reason for females to enter into sex work. The health and well-being of female sex workers (FSWs) depend on the balance between their earnings and the cost of living in their local environment. Therefore it would be of value to examine the comparative cost of living adjusted earnings of FSWs in different countries to gauge equity or its absence in their financial state. Data about per client per encounter earnings for FSWs in Pune, India was taken from primary research conducted by the first author. Equivalent secondary data was acquired for the US and Thailand from an online literature review. Earnings after converting to US dollar values were adjusted against the cost of living in the respective environments of the FSWs and then compared. An FSW in India, (Pune) earned on the average US $4.40 after adjusting for the cost of living locally, while in Thailand (Bangkok) the equivalent earning was US $18.77 and in the US (Washington DC region) it was $101.79. These results suggest that an FSW in the US earns 23 times more, and a Thai FSW earns 4 times more than an FSW in India. There are numerous variables that affect the earnings of an FSW and the limited defined scope of this paper based on available data does not permit detailed analyses of causal or intermediate influencing factors. Nonetheless, it can be said with reasonable confidence that much needs to be done and can be done to mitigate the earning disparity, particularly in an emerging economy like India as shown in this small study, and that can perhaps be done best under the umbrella domain of a “harm reduction approach.”