The Tamil Nadu government plans to expand its master health check-up service to government hospitals in districts such as Madurai and Coimbatore, Health Minister K.G. Arunraj said on Thursday.
Speaking at the launch of the book The 100-Year Blueprint, authored by Navin Gnanasekaran, longevity physician and head of radiology at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, Mr. Arunraj said the master health check-up service at the Kalaignar Centenary Super Speciality Hospital in Chennai had been witnessing high demand and appointments were being booked well in advance.
The State government will consider extending the facility to major government hospitals in other districts, he said, adding that the government’s primary focus would be to promote health rather than merely treating diseases.
Congratulating Dr. Gnanasekaran on his first book, Dr. Arunraj said it was the “need of the hour”.
The 100-Year Blueprint, published by Pan Macmillan India, presents an India-specific approach to healthy ageing by combining evidence-based guidance on nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress management and preventive health screening.
Dr. Gnanasekaran highlighted the growing burden of non-communicable diseases in India, citing the Indian Council of Medical Research’s 2024 estimates that one in four Indians is diabetic or prediabetic.
In Tamil Nadu, he said, the prevalence of diabetes was nearly twice that of the national average.