A nutritious diet, exercise, adequate sleep, and low stress can keep lifestyle disorders at bay: Dr. P.S. Menon

The World Health Organization compiled a list of which health issues in 2018?
71% of all deaths worldwide are due to non-communicable diseases. So, what are non-communicable diseases? While measles, chickenpox, and viral diseases are all communicable, which means they are contagious, non-communicable diseases include lifestyle-related and other disorders. Most of the non-communicable diseases are found in the age group of 30 to 69. 85% of the patients suffering from non-communicable diseases are from economically weaker sections of society.

Cardiovascular diseases account for 7.9 million, cancer 9 million, and diabetes 1.6 million of the total annual deaths. Respiratory disorders claim about 80% of premature deaths. Tobacco use, physical inactivity, excessive alcohol consumption, and an unhealthy diet are some of the factors that contribute to the spread of non-communicable diseases. The number of deaths and incidents of such non-communicable diseases is increasing daily. These diseases are also called lifestyle diseases because they are directly related to our lifestyle.

Which are the L. S. T. (Lifestyle) disorders?
Obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, heart diseases, varying lipid levels in human blood, liver disorders, arthritis, insomnia, cancer, and reproductive system-related disorders such as infertility and PCOD are some of the L.S.T. (Lifestyle) disorders.

What do all these lifestyle ailments have in common?
Heredity is a common factor in all of these lifestyle disorders. Therefore, we can consider blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease as genetic. If a mother or father has diabetes, their children are 30% more likely to have diabetes, and if both parents have diabetes, their children are 99% more likely to have diabetes.

Overall, heredity is important. No special genetic tests are available to diagnose such genetic diseases. Because there are endless genes worldwide, we can say that nature has given us this birth package. Whether we can change this is something to consider. We cannot say with certainty that there is only genetics behind all these disorders because the prevalence of diabetes was not so high 40 years ago.

If genetics are linked to factors like pollution and radiation, these disorders can be fixed on us. What matters is what we can change. The elements of our daily life can be called environmental factors. You can easily change them. The components are as follows: 1) Nutritious diet: You can change your daily diet by including the food items that provide the essential nutrients. 2) Exercise is very important. Simple things like climbing stairs and walking small distances instead of taking an auto-rickshaw or scooter can do good. 3) Regular and adequate sleep. 4) Ensuring peace of mind by controlling stress. These four things can help us keep lifestyle disorders at bay atleast at an early age.

 –  Dr. P.S. Menon, Jupiter Hospital