LIFESTYLE DISEASES: An Economic Burden on the Health Services Lifestyle diseases share risk factors similar to prolonged exposure to three modifiable lifestyle behaviours -- smoking, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity -- and result in the development of chronic diseases, specifically heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and some types of cancer. These illnesses used to be considered the diseases of industrialized countries, so-called "Western diseases" or "diseases of affluence"; however, internationally they are known as non-communicable and chronic diseases, part of the degenerative diseases group. Chronic disease can result in loss of independence, years of disability, or death, and impose a considerable economic burden on health services. Today, chronic diseases are a major public health problem worldwide. In 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 61 per cent of all deaths -...
Posts
CAUSE AND PREVENTION
What Causes Lifestyle Diseases and Can They Be Prevented? Don't fall victim to lifestyle diseases A lifestyle disease is a disease linked to the way a person is living. Lifestyle diseases result in chronic diseases or non-communicable diseases. [1] These terms are often used interchangeably. It is possible to reduce your risk of lifestyle diseases. Common lifestyle diseases include heart disease, stroke, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and more. [2] One major contributing factor to developing some of these diseases is how we live; in fact, our lifestyle primarily controls our risk of developing such diseases. Luckily, because we can change how we live, we could reduce our risk of developing such diseases by … well, changing our lifestyle: the foods we eat (or don’t eat), our exercise habits, stress levels, etc. In fact, our lifestyle is what primarily controls our risk of developing such diseases. Of course, the saying “easier said than done” rings true here. Changing our l...