Health 360: Delhi's summer AQI, childhood obesity linked to faster ageing?

India Today's special show Healthy 60 examines, in the latest episode, critical health challenges facing India. Central Pollution Control Board data reveals ground-level ozone has emerged as Delhi's primary air quality threat, appearing for multiple days in February and March beyond its typical summer season. Experts explain that sunlight reacting with vehicle and industrial emissions creates this year-round hazard, causing airway inflammation and increased infection vulnerability.

The episode also addresses childhood obesity, with India ranking second globally for overweight children, potentially affecting 56 million by 2040. A new international study covering 2300 people shows toxic relationships can accelerate biological ageing, with each negative person in one's social circle ageing the body approximately nine months at cellular level through chronic stress and inflammation.