Lifestyle Diseases - Today's Health Reality

“Our bodies are our gardens-our wills are our gardeners”-William Shakespeare

As rightly quoted by ‘Sir William Shakespeare’ our bodies are our own built gardens, what we sow is what we reap.

Introduction:

We as humans have entered into a new era of advancements and developments in almost every field of our life. We are surrounded by technologies about which nobody could have even thought of a few years back. So we are called ‘MODERN’.

But are we actually living a modern and happy life?

The shift to purchase power and the coming in of technology has changed our lives in such a way that ‘health’ which is actually the driver of the car of our life has acquired backseat in our life. Many of us may ignore this fact but this is the truth which we all must accept by now. This has lead many of us to a special kind of disease called “LIFESTYLE DISEASE” Lifestyle diseases are the ailments that are primarily based on the day to day habits of people. Habits that detract people from activity and push them towards a sedentary routine that can cause a number of health issues and can lead to chronic non-communicable disease which can have life threatening consequences. Not only adults, lifestyle diseases have started hitting kids as well.

Non-communicable disease kill around 40 million people each year, that is around 70% of all deaths globally. They are results of combination of factors including genetics, physiology, environment and behaviors. The main types to notify are the Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) which include heart attacks, stroke etc. and Chronic Respiratory diseases and Cancer.

Where India stands-

The World Health Organization (WHO),which identifies alcohol, tobacco, poor diet and lack of physical activity as major risk factors for NCDs says that an investment of US$1-3 per person per year is needed to reduce illness and death from NCDs. But Sunita Narain, director general, CSE says that the investment for India will be much higher. The risk factor in India

Have multiple targets and can cause disease which are not generally linked to them. For example exposure to pesticides is known to cause cancer, but new data is emerging to link it with diabetes as well.

The Physical Health:

Lifestyle diseases affecting physical health include atheroscleorois, heart disease, stroke, obesity, type II diabetes (Diabetes Mellitus) and diseases associated with smoking, alcohol, drug abuse etc.

The Mental Health:

More than 10% of the global population over the age 18 suffer from various kind of mental illnesses. The lifetime prevalence of such mental illness is over 13%. Many people affected by mental disorder, require active medical intervention. Lack of social support, changing diet and economic instability are the main triggers of mental disorder.

The Cure (the easy 4 steps towards a healthy life):

- Avoid tobacco use 

- Maintain a healthy weight

- Maintain daily physical activity 

- Eat a healthy diet.