For years, the Indian healthcare conversation was reactive, focused on treatment rather than prevention. But change is brewing. Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath noted in a post on X "Everything health-related in the last decade felt like it was too early. This seems to be changing now, with health and longevity becoming mainstream in urban India. The timing might be right now for entrepreneurs to build something in health."
Kamath highlighted a fundamental shift: preventive healthcare is gaining traction, and the numbers back it up.
Along with the post, Kamath shared a few slides that showed India’s preventive healthcare market expecting to hit $197 billion by 2025, with fitness and wellness alone contributing nearly $98 billion.
The market has doubled in size over the past four years, fueled by a growing consumer focus on health and longevity.
Health-conscious Indians are now spending anywhere between ₹4,000–₹10,000 annually on preventive healthcare. However, spending is highly skewed—the wealthiest 35% of Indians account for 98% of this expenditure. Fitness and wellness services dominate the segment, making up 51% of the total market.
Despite the increasing interest in health, India still lags in structured fitness habits. The country has 96,278 gyms, but membership remains strikingly low. Compared to the U.S., where 21.2% of adults have gym memberships, India is at just 0.2%—the lowest globally. Even among those who sign up, more than half fail to attend regularly.
The reasons are clear: overcrowding, poor maintenance, parking issues, and the lack of group workout options push many Indians toward home-based workouts. Today, 44% prefer exercising at home rather than navigating these hurdles.
India’s fitness culture is still evolving, with 29% of the population remaining inactive and 56% exercising only occasionally. The top motivators for exercise include staying healthy, feeling good, and reducing stress. Walking remains the most common activity (38% of women, 34% of men), while other forms of exercise—such as running, cycling, yoga, and sports—see comparatively lower participation.
New Year’s resolutions drive a 12.5% surge in gym memberships, but the enthusiasm is short-lived—80% of new members quit within five months.
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a 1300% spike in live fitness content consumption worldwide, indicating a fundamental shift in how people engage with fitness. Yet, India lags significantly in key fitness metrics:
One potential growth avenue is increasing women’s participation in gyms, currently at 45%. Additionally, government initiatives like the “Fit India Movement” aim to bridge the fitness gap and push preventive health into the mainstream.
A significant 46% of Indians lead unhealthy lifestyles, which directly impacts their financial well-being. Many households spend over 30% of their wealth on treating non-communicable diseases (NCDs):
India’s preventive healthcare sector is on the verge of transformation. The question is: will businesses and individuals seize the opportunity in time?