Lifestyle 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.[5][6][7]

In many Western countries, people began to consume more meat, dairy products, vegetable oils, tobacco, sugary foods, sugary beverages, and alcoholic beverages during the latter half of the 20th century. People also developed sedentary lifestyles and greater rates of obesity.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10]

Between 1995 and 2005 813,000 Australians were hospitalized due to alcohol.[11] In 2014 11.2 million Australians were overweight or obese.

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.[12] 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.[13]

The table shows that ages of people dying and the top five diseases of which they are dying.[13]

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.[14]

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.[15] This suggests that the life expectancy at birth of 49.24 years in 1900[16] 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.[17]

According to a report[18] published by ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) in 2017, 3 of the 5 leading individual causes of disease burden in India were non-communicable, with ischaemic heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as the top two causes and stroke as the fifth leading cause. The range of disease burden or DALY rate among the states in 2016 was 9-fold for ischaemic heart disease, 4-fold for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and 6-fold for stroke, and 4-fold for diabetes across India. Of the total death from major disease groups, 62% of all deaths were caused by non-communicable diseases.

Prevention is remedies or activities that aim to reduce the likelihood of a disease or disorder affecting people. Lifestyle diseases are preventable for children if parents set them on the correct path, as early life decisions and influences can impact people later on in life.[10] Lifestyle diseases can be prevented through reduction in smoking of tobacco [19] the Australian Government has started this by introducing plain packaging for all tobacco products and increasing the prices of tobacco production.[20] Overweightness and obesity can be prevented through a well balanced lifestyle through healthy eating and exercise. Prevention can come about by a person undertaking 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily or by doing 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week.[21] Examples of moderate exercise includes a brisk walk, swim, bike ride or it can also be everyday life activities like mowing the lawn or house cleaning.[22] In addition, animals studies have suggested that early life exercise can reduce the risk of developing metabolic diseases in adulthood.[23] All causes of lifestyle disease can be prevented through giving up smoking and other drugs, reducing ones intake of alcohol, processed meats (like bacon and sausages), red meats (like pork, beef and lamb), fatty foods and by engaging in daily exercise. However, new studies also show preventive effects on recurrent respiratory tract infections in children through the intake of unprocessed food. Beef, green vegetables and whole dairy can then have a beneficial effect because they are unprocessed compared to processed foods. Beef, unlike other types of red meat, can contribute to the health-promoting effects.[24]

• Diseases of affluence
• Affluenza
• Health care in Australia
• Healthy living
• Healthcare in the United Kingdom

• Media related to Lifestyle disease at Wikimedia Commons