# Lifestyle Disorders #

Root Cause Of Lifestyle Disorders And Diseases Caused By Them

# Definition:

Lifestyle Disorders are defined as the diseases which are associated with the way people live their life. This is commonly caused by drinking to much alcohol, smoking, drug abuse, as well as lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating.

# Common Diseases:

Diabetes, Blood Pressure, Respiratory disease, Obesity, Digestion Problems, Heart Disease, Stroke, Cancer etc.

# Causes of Lifestyle Disorders:

Unbalanced Diet: Unhealthy Diet can contribute to stress, tiredness, and reduced working capacity, and over time it can contribute to the risk of developing some illnesses and other health problems such as: being overweight or obese, high blood pressure etc.

Unhealthy Habits: Living a long, healthy life depends on many factors, including genetics, but certain habits can have major effects. Smoking, drinking alcohol, and overeating contributes to illnesses and serious life-threatening diseases. Addiction is considered as an unhealthy lifestyle. Tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing more than 7 million people a year. More than 6 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while 8,90,000 are a result of passive smoking. Smoking or unhealthy habits may result in various severe problems like Cardiovascular diseases, Asthma etc.

Fatigue: Extreme tiredness due to mental or physical exertion or illness, resulting in lack of sleep may lead to numerous, serious medical issues including high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, obesity, and mental impairment.

Physical Inactivity: Lack of physical activity increases the risk of noncommunicable diseases like cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. Globally, 1 in 4 adults is not active and more than 80% of the world's adolescent population does insufficient physical actives.

Malnutrition: Malnutrition is the outcome of inadequate intake of calories and protein for maintenance and growth. Continuous calorie deficiency may lead to heart and liver failure. The skin may become thin, dry, inelastic, pale and cold.

# Reasons behind increased Lifestyle Disorders:

Improper Diet: Diets are changing with rising incomes and urbanization. People are consuming more animal-source foods, sugar, fats and oils, refined grains, and processed foods. This “nutrition transition” is causing increases in overweight and obesity and diet-related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. Urban residents are making the nutrition transition fastest— but it is occurring in rural areas too.

Sleep Deprivation: Sleeping is one of the bases of healthy life. With the growing population, technological advancements, toughened competition, and reduction in the value of money, people have started working overtime, reducing their sleeping hours to gain financial satisfaction and stability. It has lead to severe sleeping disorders, affecting people's physical and mental health. Other potential problems include obesity and depression. Chronic sleep deprivation can even affect your appearance. Over time, it can lead to premature wrinkling and dark circles under the eyes.

Smoking/Drug Abuse: An observational research shows that almost 30% of people between 18-65 years old smoke permanently. About 250 million women in the world are daily smokers. About 22% women in developed countries and about 9% of women in developing countries smoke. In addition, many women in South Asia chew tobacco. Globally about 40% of men smoke as compared to nearly 9% women.

Environmental Factors: Several environmental factors like low air pollution due to high-density traffic, consumption of adulterated foods and junk foods etc. which are linked to urbanization may lead to several health hazards.

# How Is Current Lifestyle Responsible For These Diseases?

While urbanization and progress have brought about tremendous improvements in health care and the general standards of living, the pressures of sustaining these standards dos take a toll on us. As we struggle to cope with the pressures of work and survival today, we often compromise on diet, exercise, rest and relaxation, making convenient but poor choices. Consequently, while the toll from infectious diseases like tuberculosis, influenza and smallpox has greatly reduced, lifestyle diseases like diabetes and atherosclerosis have seen a dramatic rise.

Eating Habits: Developed nations and the urban population these days tend to follow diets that are high in calories with saturated fats, red meats and other junk food, they fail to follow a diet that can often include whole foods and fresh produce including fruits, vegetables and cereals. Another common problem faced with urbanization is an increase in the prices of fresh produce and products like organic fruits and vegetables, while refined and processed foods are cheap and widely available. To cope with high-pressure jobs and the fast paced lifestyle, people living in cities tend to make choices of convenience, when it comes to food.

Physical Activity Status: One of the distinctive feature of Urbanization and Development is Sedentary Lifestyle. People are engaged in occupations that require less physical activity and most even don't permit much time to engage in physical activity. This is a huge contributing factor to the rise of lifestyle diseases and chronic conditions like hypertension, high cholesterol and it can subsequently lead to problems with obesity, heart disease, diabetes, strokes, and so on.

Mental Stress Level: Stress doesn’t just affect us emotionally or mentally, it also has a clear physical effect as it increases the risk of conditions like obesity, cardiac disease, diabetes, asthma, rapid aging and gastrointestinal problems. Stress and Anxiety can also affect one’s ability to relax and get proper sleep, contributing to a further deterioration in health and a host of other problems.

# Remedies To Reduce Lifestyle Disorders:

Food Habits: Healthy eating prevents Obesity- the number one nutritional reason for disease. It also improves mood which in turn boosts physical activity. One should make sure to have healthy breakfast every morning as it is one of the most important meal of the day. Adding vegetables in the diet plan would lead to an improved health. A timely diet and good digestion equates with healthy body and healthy mind.

Bathing Regularly: A good shower is necessary to remove dirt and odor from the body and it also helps to revitalize. cleaning each part of the body thoroughly helps in preventing infections and foul odor.

Staying Hydrated: Human body is made up of over 70% water. A healthy person needs 30 to 50 ounces of fluid per day. Drinking water is crucial to staying healthy and maintaining the function of every system including Heart, Brain and Muscles. Drinking a minimum of 8-10 glasses of water every day, depending on physical activity is very essential to flush out toxins from the body and to rejuvenate cells.

Sound Sleep: A good night's sleep for 8 hours is very important to prevent various sleep disorders. Thus, always maintaining a proper schedule and proper sleeping pattern may help our body prevent various lifestyle disorders.

Regular Exercise, Yoga & Meditation: These are time-tested and proved to be effective in reducing stress and improving general physical/emotional well being.

# Role of Healthy Diet & Proper exercise to avoid the risk of Lifestyle Disorders:

Good nutrition is an important part of leading a healthy lifestyle. Combined with physical activity, a proper diet can help us reach and maintain a healthy weight, reducing the risk of chronic diseases (like heart disease and cancer). The link between good nutrition and healthy weight, reduced chronic disease risk, and overall health is too important to ignore. As with physical activity, making small changes in the diet can go a long way. Regular exercise and the consumption of a healthy diet can lead to a host of benefits, including increased energy, happiness, health and even a long life. Exercise and diet are pivotal to determining a person’s overall health, and making them both part of your lifestyle can make a dramatic difference in how you look and feel.

Blog Written By:

Ms. Puja Kumari

Innovative Writings Of Puja!!

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