The world is moving from curative medicine to preventive medicine and care and the reason is not farfetched. Cure has been known to be expensive and it does not also guarantee total freedom from such medical condition.
Preventive medicine on the hand is cheap with other numerous advantages such as, no weeping, no calling in sick, no mortality, no morbidity, no greeting as a result of death and so on.
There is an upsurge of chronic disease in the world and its effects are on the increase. Chronic diseases also known as non communicable diseases includes stroke, heart-disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, obesity and so on. Chronic diseases are disease of lifestyle, that is, they affect humans as a result of the lifestyle they live.
As preventable as most of these diseases are, it has killed so many and still killing more people in the world. Report also indicated that this disease has the tendency of causing more death compared to the number caused by most communicable diseases.
Causes of Chronic Disease
Three things have been identified as the causes of chronic disease by World Health Organization and they are:
Cause 1: Sedentary lifestyle or inactivity
Most people have seen inactive life has the best lifestyle for them in this present technology era. Machines are readily available to do virtually everything for humans and so making people to be inactive.
However, this is not the best lifestyle ever. Physical activity is known for its rehabilitative therapy with other benefits. This implies that, with adequate participation in physical activities, there will be gross reduction of chronic diseases, like obesity.
Obesity has been referred to as the mother of all diseases. The term obesity is the accumulation of excess fats in the body in such a way that it becomes a problem to the health of the individual. It has linkage with inactivity or sedentary lifestyle.
Sedentary lifestyle exposes humans to other dangerous health conditions and shortens one’s lifetime. It is advised that we pick up exercise and active lifestyle as part of our daily activity. This will help in a long way.
Cause 2: Unhealthy diet
Consumption of unhealthy diet is another identified cause of chronic diseases. The saying that you are what you eat is not new and to a large extent what humans consume determine their development, growth and how healthy they are.
Most people now consume junks and most junks don’t offer the body the necessary nutrients required to fight infections, they only keep the system going.
Eating unhealthy diets has a way of increasing the blood pressure. It is worth noting that any food that does not supply the body with nutrients needed for its growth is not worth consuming.
We now have processed foods all over the world that are preserved with chemicals whose both short and long term effects are inimical to humans health. They contain items that give room for free radicals that affect the body system.
Foods must be well prepared under hygienic conditions and must contain the classes of food that is required by the body. Fresh vegetables, fruits and other organic foods are recommended.
Cause 3: Tobacco use
Tobacco use is another prominent cause of chronic disease among elites.
So many people have different reasons for smoking. For some, they see it as enjoyment or relaxation.
Some start smoking to experiment, while so many people become addicted to smoking as a result of peer pressure.
Whichever reason we might have, there are many chronic diseases associated with tobacco use and such include cancer of the lung, damaged airways, and damaged alveoli etc.
This act must be checkmate so as to reduce its effects on humans’ health.