Lifestyle diseases like blood pressure, diabetes, heart diseases are happening in epidemic proportion and the real solution lies in change of lifestyle that includes change in dietetics, physical activity pattern and healthy habits.
What are Lifestyle diseases?
They include problems like obesity, blood pressure, diabetes, heart diseases, stroke, high cholesterol, stress, anxiety, depression, acidity and even some of the cancers. They are called so as they are now considered the result of our deranged lifestyle.
How common are lifestyle diseases in society?
In year 2005, for the first time in the history of mankind, it happened that, more people died because of lifestyle related illnesses and non-infectious diseases like heart diseases, Diabetes, cancer etc. as compared to all infections put together.
One Indian survey shows that in the cities, every 4th adult is Diabetic and every 3rd person has high blood pressure. The worse thing is that it is increasing rapidly.
These lifestyle diseases are not only getting commoner now a days, but are also happening at a much younger age. Even the complications are happening at a younger age.
Why are the lifestyle diseases so common now?
The culprits for these lifestyle diseases are the triad of poor diet, lack of physical activity and mental issues like stress/depression and unhealthy habits. These in turn are affected by different factors like affluence, urbanization, blind westernization, and change in value system.
What we don’t always realize is the common link between them all. They are different ‘avatar’s of the same dysfunctional lifestyle. It is a matter of individual genetic background and environmental factors, whether you get one or the other illness. But, once you get one, you are more at risk for other. For example, someone who gets Diabetes, has a much higher chance of getting heart disease than other healthy person.
Why are the lifestyle diseases called silent killers?
Most of these lifestyle diseases progress silently without causing any obvious problem/symptoms or trouble like pain or weight loss or fever, in the initial stages. By the time they start causing any problem, complications have already started and diseases are in advanced state. For example, a diabetic may remain without any obvious trouble or problem for more than 10 year from the actual start of the disease. But, by the time it is discovered and treatment started, some of them already have complications. At this stage, complete reversal is impossible. Most people have no option but to take medicines, but they are still at risk of complications owing to the damage done by the longstanding disease. Because of their silent progress till the stage of complications, they are called silent killers.
Is there any solution?
YES.
The solution is
- Don’t let them happen. Prevention is the key. This can be done by vigilance over the triad of diet, activity and issues like stress/anxiety and healthy habits.
- Catch early – Try to catch these problems at the earliest and start working on the factors mentioned above in A. For example, research shows that once fasting sugar crossed 85 mg %, one is at a higher risk of diabetes. If one starts working early on the lifestyle, diabetes can be prevented from occurring for many years to come.
- Keep weight and fat under control– Indians are at a higher risk of lifestyle diseases once the BMI crosses 23. It is the fat content that is the culprit; try to keep it below 17/24 (M/F). Any extra fat is a risk factor. Try to lose the extra fat at the earliest.
- Even in a fully established disease, working on the lifestyle helps to push away the complications and keep oneself fit.
How do we do it
3 fold approach – Diet, physical activity and mind issues (stress/habits) are the three important elements to be corrected. Sorting one and ignoring other doesn’t help. We rectify them simultaneously.
Change and the approach to change – What is needed here is ‘change’. Change is essential, but it needs to be long term to have a long lasting effect. The change must be made as per individual personality and psychology. Individual likes and lifestyle should be respected. Then the change can be easy and long-lasting. For more information read “the psychology of weight loss” blog.
Holistic approach – Issues related to work, finance, relations and family must be considered while making change in diet, activity and habits.
Family as a unit – It is not enough to deal only with the affected individual, but the whole family needs to be considered as a unit. The children involvement must be an integral part. The change has to have positive effect in family health and family dynamics
How we can help you?
At our DOL CLINIC we can help you-
- Calculate your BMI, total body fat content and visceral fat content.
- Assess your health parameters.
- Educate you about both natural and modern methods to prevent and manage the lifestyle diseases in the earliest stages.
Read for more information-
Body fat analysis and diabetes and pcod
Weight loss and psychology of the individual.
Easy tips for effortless weight loss.
How to stabilize glucose/sugar level naturally (the truth about diabetes reversal)