Lifestyle Disease
A disease
associated with the way a person or group of people lives. Lifestyle diseases
include atherosclerosis, heart disease, and stroke; obesity and type 2
diabetes; and diseases associated with smoking and alcohol and drug abuse. Regular
physical activity helps prevent obesity, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes,
colon cancer, and premature mortality.
Cause
of the disease
Diet and
lifestyle are major factors thought to influence susceptibility to many
diseases. Drug abuse, tobacco smoking, and alcohol drinking, as well as a lack
of or too much exercise may also increase the risk of developing certain
diseases, especially later in life. Between 1995 and 2005 813,000 Australians
were hospitalised due to alcohol.
In many
Western countries, people began to consume more meat, dairy products, vegetable
oils, tobacco, sugary foods, Coca-Cola, and alcoholic beverages during the
latter half of the 20th century. People also developed sedentary lifestyles and
greater rates of obesity. In 2014 11.2 million Australians were overweight or obese, Rates of colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate
cancer, endometrial cancer and lung cancer started increasing after this
dietary change. People in developing countries, whose diets still depend largely
on low-sugar starchy foods with little meat or fat have lower rates of these
cancers. Causes are not just from
smoking and alcohol abuse. Adults can develop lifestyle diseases through behavioural factors that impact on them. These can be
unemployment, unsafe life, poor social environment, working conditions, stress
and home life can change a person’s lifestyle to increase their risk of
developing one of these diseases.
Date
rate in Australia
In 2013
there were 147,678 deaths within Australia mostly from lifestyle diseases
including smoking of tobacco, alcohol use and other drugs, violence and
unhealthy weight have impacted on Australians' death rate. The leading cause of
death of Australian males was heart disease with 11,016 deaths, followed by
lung cancer with 4,995 deaths, and chronic pulmonary disease killing 3,572. All
these conditions were mainly attributed to smoking, alcohol abuse or unhealthy
lifestyle. In 2013 coronary heart
disease was the leading cause of death in 8,750 women, mainly as a result of
their lifestyle. Dementia and Alzheimer disease came second, affecting 7,277
females and thirdly, cerebrovascular disease, killing
6,368. These top three causes of deaths could be minimized through lifestyle
changes within the Australian population.
Date
rate in United States
In 1900,
the top three causes of death in the United States were pneumonia/influenza,
tuberculosis, and diarrhea/enteritis. Communicable diseases accounted for about
60 percent of all deaths. In 1900, heart disease and cancer were ranked number
four and eight respectively. Since the 1940s, the majority of deaths in the
United States have resulted from heart disease, cancer, and other degenerative
diseases. And, by the late 1990s, degenerative diseases accounted for more than
60 percent of all deaths.
Lifestyle
diseases have their onset later in an individual's life; they appear to
increase in frequency as countries become more industrialized and people live
longer. This suggests that the life
expectancy at birth of 49.24 years in 1900 was too short for degenerative
diseases to occur, compared to a life expectancy at birth of 77.8 years in
2004. Also, survivorship to the age of 50 was 58.5% in 1900, and 93.7% in 2007.
Types
of life style disease
There are
many types of life style diseases including-
Stroke
Heart
disease
Asthma
Obesity
Depression
Osteoporosis
Type 2
diabetes
Metabolic
syndrome
Cirrhosis
and other disease of liver
Some
types of cancer
Some
common types of life style are given below-
Cancer
Due to the stressful lifestyle that we lead
now, our body's immunity has decreased. This means that the white blood cells
lose their power to fight the viruses that enter our body. Because of this,
there may be an irregular cell growth, which can be concluded as cancer.
Swimmer's
ear
When you use headphones constantly and are
exposed to loud music more than you should be, the
ultimate result of this is swimmer's ear. Swimmer's ear causes inflammation,
irritation or infection in the ear canal or the outer ear. According to
studies, 12.5% approximately have suffered permanent damage to their hearing
due to constant exposure to noise. This number is said to be increasing by the
year.
High
blood pressure
100
million in India suffer from high blood pressure. Some very common reasons for
high blood pressure are stress, obesity, genetic factors and unhealthy eating
habits. When the reading in the blood pressure machine is
140/90 or higher, your blood pressure is high. Once this happens, you
will feel severe discomfort.
Arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis occurs when the arterial blood vessel walls thicken and lose elasticity. This usually causes blood circulation disorders, chest pain, and heart attacks. Arteriosclerosis is also linked to obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure. Atleast 30-40% of cardiovascular deaths happen in the age group of 34-64 in India.
Obesity
We are all familiar with the word and yet tend
to ignore it. To see whether you've reached this stage, check your BMI. If it is higher than 25, then you are in the obese category.
Unhealthy eating habits, stressful lifestyle, reduced physical activity
translates to obesity. Anybody who is overweight suffers from breathing issues,
blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes etc. This is also the first
step to your body attracting all kinds of other lifestyle diseases.
Stroke
When the
blood vessel carrying blood to the brain has a blockage leading to an oxygen
deficiency for the area of the brain it carried blood to, the result of this is
called stroke. High blood pressure, if not taken care of in time with proper
treatment, can lead to a stroke.
And so
on.
Change
lifestyle and prevention
Take dry
fruits like almonds, raisins, and walnuts as an option for a healthy quick
snack.
Add fresh
soups for dinner, including salads and fresh fruits during the day.
Include
egg whites, lean meat and fish to add sufficient proteins to your diet.
Avoid
junk foods and soft drinks as these cause you to feel bloated and cause
acidity.
Add fiber
rich foods like oats and fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet for a healthy
heart and easy digestion. Includes cereals in your breakfast
to get a complete dose of fiber in your diet.
Add
Sugars and soft drinks, these do nothing but only add calories to your diet.
Furthermore consuming sugar can lead to diabetes, hence avoid sugar intake and
instead choose to sugar in their natural forms from fruits.
Avoid
sodium and do not sprinkle extra salts on foods. High intake of salts leads to
high blood pressure which is one of the main causes of coronary diseases and
stroke. Instead of salt, sprinkle herbs on foods and salads.
Cut down
on fatty and high calories foods.