Risks Associated With Lifestyle Diseases

Bckground While modern lifestyles and medical care have certainly improved the longevity of humans in the developed world, and contributed to a greater quality of life scenario, those same lifestyles have engendered a number of issues that contribute to disease. Lack of proper diet, fast food, high fat and carbohydrate diets without adequate fruits and vegetables, lack of exercise, smoking and alcohol contribute to an epidemic of obesity which, in turn, contributes to a serious metabolic disorder called Diabetes Mellitus Type 2. While not managed by insulin injections, it is nevertheless quite serious and has a number of progressing symptoms that, if not treated properly, can result in cardiovascular, renal and neurological problems, as well as amputation, ocular issues, and even cognitive dysfunction.

Improving the health conditions of the American population ensures the increased quality of life. People eat for various reasons with the fundamental reason being for survival purposes. However, the issue of eating to live and living to eat affects people in different manners as most people develop poor eating habits that affect the body’s nutritional intake and affects their health. Being healthy involves careful considerations of what one is eating and engaging in activities that contribute to better healthy lives that do not imply daily prescriptions or

While not the leading cause of death (mortality), there is a high prevalence of both obesity and diabetes in the population, justifying the selection of these health issues to be addressed in the

‘The Australian Wellness Guidelines for Adults’ provides advice and behaviours that adults can do on a daily basis to achieve optimum health and wellbeing. The Australian Bureau of Statistics: National Health Survey 2014 - 2015 (2015) data showed that 63.4 per cent of Australian adults were either overweight or obese, and that 44.5 per cent didn’t exercise enough. The National Health Survey (2015) also reported that 17.4 per cent of Australian adults exceeded the National Health and Medical Research Council guideline by drinking more than two standard alcoholic drinks a day.

The sedentary lifestyle predominates even outside of work, evidenced by the choice of leisure activities possessed by most Australians. The vast majority of Australians are drawn to passive and vapid leisure activities such as watching sporting events or film and television. So prevalent is this condition of being overweight, whether slightly or extremely, that many fail to recognize the danger that it can pose to one's health.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012), "more than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese." This fact effectively underscores the seriousness of the issue at hand. Further, it means that obesity is affecting millions of people in the U.S. alone (either directly or indirectly). As McKnight (2006) points out, one of the leading causes of death in America is physical inactivity. Physical inactivity coupled with other factors has been branded a leading cause of obesity. Every day, people die from obesity related diseases including but not limited to hypertension and heart disease as others have their social lives greatly inhibited by the condition. In the recent past, debate has been rife on whether obesity should be branded a disease or a factor contributing to ill health. Whether classified as a disease or a factor contributing to ill health, the epidemic remains one of the main preventable causes of death not only in the U.S. but also across the world. In the modern day, both comfort and convenience have come to be regarded top human priories. In pursuance of these two "ideals", healthy living has seemingly taken a backseat. A sedentary lifestyle coupled with poor eating habits is slowly making America a fat nation and as a result, we are slowly gravitating towards poor health. It is this trend that is making obesity synonymous with disease. Obesity is however not a disease but one of the many factors that contribute to ill health.

Our life is something that is so precious. Every choice we make impacts our life wether it be physically or mentally. When we choose to make poor life choices, it will reflect on us as individuals. Poor choices in what we consumed or how active we are will lead to a life that can lead to an early death. Obesity is an epidemic health problem that has been one of the leading causes to death. The disease itself causes sever health conditions as well as mental health issues.no one wants to become obese, but in today’s society we have been given the perfect recipe that will land us in a fight for our life. Obesity is not something that simply happens, but a lifetime of poor choices. We must discover the source of obesity and attack the health issue from the primary leading factors. We start with the source in order to help improve the lives of people everywhere who are battling this disease, as well as those who are predisposed to a higher chance of developing it.

Fitness and nutritional habits should be more enforced in today’s society; especially in the United States. The general public as a whole is less healthy the prior days. People are not as active, make poor eating choices, are indoors more often and always on the run. This is the results to an unhealthy culture. By changing our day to day habits by incorporating healthy meal planning and exercise we can beat this growing change.

As we look into John’s – a 45 year old, 5’ 10”, 255lb male - dietary intake we see he has a classic southern American diet, where convenience foods, fried, loaded with starches, processed carbohydrates and lack vital nutrients. John finds himself eating out at fast food restaurants and loading up on cola drinks, which many people find themselves doing on a daily basis. Assuming he has a desk job that requires a lot of his attention throughout the day, John has little time to get in daily exercise and is required to hold attention for long periods of time. This is what is called a sedentary lifestyle and can lead to a number of health related illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and even cancer. John complains of feeling lethargic by lunch time and often tries to remedy this by drinking more caffeinated drinks to help with his tiredness, he also is unhappy with his current weight.

The documentary titled Forks over Knives presents the viewers with information and studies that were preformed which correlated dietary habits to risk of diseases. Recent studies have predicted that this generation and coming generations have a reduced lifespan, meaning that most of these individuals will not outlive their parents. Although there is a tremendous amount of money being spent on health related concerns the number of deaths remains high. Some statistics that were presented in this documentary, that can be used as credible evidence to the previous statement is that every minute a person dies due to a heart disease and approximately 1,500 people die a day due to cancer. According to Colin Campbell and Caldwell Esselstyn, major contributors to

Obesity has become one of the leading causes of premature death and illness in Australia, overtaking smoking (Core.monash.org, 2010). Obesity alone, is one of the major contributors to the shorter life expectancy of young generations today.

During the past 20 years, it has been noted that personal behaviors which includes, tobacco use, alcohol abuse, unhealthy diet and obesity contributes to the death of millions. According Orleans, Ulmer and Gruman, “research findings over the past two decades have established that modifying these behavioral risk factors leads to improved health and quality of life and to reduce health costs and burden” (as cited in Knickman, Jonas & Kovner, 2015, p. 120). Many of us can relate to these personal behaviors that have caused health issues. Smokers pay more for insurance becomes of the dire consequences associated with cigarettes. Alcohol abuse can cause liver damage as well as other health issues. Unhealthy diet and obesity can go hand in hand and can lead to cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Humans have been around for many centuries. In this century, we are growing more aware of the negative effects illness and stress have on the human body. We are also becoming aware of the necessary steps needed to be healthy and accomplish a longer life span. With the ever-growing number of diseases around the human population, it is imperative that humans realize the importance of being healthy. People believe health is attained by just eating healthy foods, and exercising but that is not the case. Different components compile a human beings overall health; the components are called six different dimensions. The different dimensions are physical, psychological, spiritual, social, intellectual, and

Personal health behaviours are activities that heighten risk of disease or promote the maintenance of health. They consist of two broad classes of behaviour: 1) Health risk behaviours, or activities carried out with a frequency or intensity that increases risk of disease or injury; these include cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, certain sexual behaviours and drink-driving. 2) Positive health behaviours, or activities that may help prevent disease and injury, detect disease and disability at an early stage, or enhance health; regular physical activity, avoidance of fat in the diet, eating fruit and fibre, and breast and testicle self-examination, all fall into this category. (1) Personal health behaviours are thought to play a key role in determining the prevalence of diseases of major socio-economic impact throughout the world, including cardiovascular diseases, cancers and accidents. (2)

A statistic from World Health Organization indicates that 60% of deaths are caused by chronic diseases. This is related to the increase of affluence and sedentary lifestyle. If we continue living this lifestyle, it will be easier for us to get the diseases. In this fast pace lifestyle, we are always on the go. We usually choose to eat food without thinking much about the food content but just thinking about filling our stomach. Apart from food consumption factor, family history and polluted surroundings are also the major causes of the chronic diseases. However, there are some key chronic disease prevention steps we can take such as we should practice a healthy lifestyle, perform regular health check and reduce the risk factor from chronic